FILE – In this May 22, 2018, file photo, Tyler Barriss, of California, appears for a preliminary hearing in Wichita, Kan. Barriss, who pleaded guilty to 51 charges related to fake emergency calls and threats will be sentenced in federal court in Wichita, Friday, March 29, 2019, and could face decades in prison. His case drew national attention to the practice of “swatting,” a form of retaliation in which gamers get police to go to an online opponent’s address. One hoax emergency call by Barris led police to fatally shoot a Kansas man. (Bo Rader/The Wichita Eagle via AP, File)
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A California man faces decades in prison when he’s sentenced for making hoax emergency calls, including one that led police to fatally shoot a Kansas man.
Tyler R. Barriss will be sentenced Friday in federal court in Wichita, Kansas. The 26-year-old man has pleaded guilty to 51 charges related to fake calls and threats under an agreement calling for at least 20 years in prison. His case drew national attention to the practice of “swatting,” a form of retaliation gamers and others use to get police to go to an someone’s address.
One of Barriss’ calls led to the death of 28-year-old Andrew Finch, who was not playing video games. Barriss’ call followed a dispute between two other people over a $1.50 bet in “Call of Duty: WWII.”
By ROXANA HEGEMAN
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