SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Man Gets 20 Years for Deadly "Swatting" Hoax:
Tyler Barriss has shown little remorse for the death of Andrew Finch.
Tyler Barriss, whose hoax call to Wichita police led to the shooting death of an innocent man, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, the Associated Press reports. The sentence in Kansas federal court is a stark reminder of the serious consequences of the deadly prank called "swatting."
The December 2017 death of Andrew Finch began with an online feud over a Call of Duty game. Casey Viner, then around 18 years old, allegedly recruited Barriss to "swat" the Wichita home of Shane Gaskill, who was about 19. Barriss called Wichita police pretending to be a deranged man with a gun holding members of his family hostage, giving what he believed was the target's address.
As Barriss expected, the police responded by dispatching a SWAT team. But Gaskill lied to Barriss about where he lived. As a result, police surrounded a home occupied by the Finch family, which had nothing to do with the online dispute.
When 28-year-old Andrew Finch opened his front door, a police officer shot him. The officer later said he saw Finch reaching for his waist and feared he had a gun. In reality, Finch was unarmed.
[...] In April, the incarcerated Barriss briefly gained access to the Internet—and he took the opportunity to demonstrate that he had learned nothing from his time behind bars.
"All right, now who was talking shit?" he tweeted on April 6, 2018. "Your ass is about to get swatted."
[...] Prosecutors decided not to charge the police officer who shot Finch.
With good behavior, he could get something like 30 months off his sentence. Something tells me he might have difficulty with that "good behavior" part.
(Score: 2) by Mykl on Monday April 01 2019, @12:16AM
Agree. Especially when the plea deal ends up being a far smaller charge (e.g. from Grand Theft Auto to speeding). In those scenarios both parties know that the police have a weak case and just want to end up with a 'win' on the books, but the roll of the dice is just too risky. Do I pay that $200 fine and get on with my life, or do I possibly end up in jail for years and then never be able to work in a white collar job again?
As you say, if the cops had to offer a lesser sentence while still having the guy plead guilty (to GTA in my example), then the chance of it going to court would be way less.