California man pleads guilty to 51 charges in fatal 'swatting' prank case

Tyler R Barriss, 26, takes a plea deal recommending a minimum of 20 years for his involvement in multiple swatting attacks

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A man faces decades behind bars after pleading guilty to 51 charges after instigating a ‘swatting’ prank in 2017 that resulted in the death of a father of two.

Barriss, 26, from California, directed police forces to the Kansas home of Andrew Finch, 28, over a $1.50 bet regarding popular online game Call of Duty, WWII.

Barriss, claiming to be Finch, told officers he had shot his father in the head and was holding two others, his mother and younger sibling, hostage in the family home. Finch was fatally shot by a Wichita police officer during the altercation after failing to follow police directions to keep his hands above his head.

The police did not find any one else in Finch’s home.

This case drew national media attention to the concept of ‘swatting’, a tactic popularised in the gaming community that falsely directs an emergency response team, generally SWAT, to another person’s home with threats of a shooting, bombing, or other violent emergency situation.

Celebrities and activists like Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, and David Hogg have been victimised in swatting attacks. Local, state, and federal forces have deemed swatting a public safety issue, to the point of publishing comprehensive information on the practice.

Barris, who had previously plead not guilty is to be sentenced in federal court in Wichita, Kansas on Friday. Barris was an organised swatter, working for hire, in which he had targeted schools and a convention center.

As part of a plea deal involving other numerous other false reports and threatening calls, including a bomb threat to a local news agency in 2015, Barris plead guilty to 51 charges. Charges include, but are not limited to, making a false report resulting in a death, cyberstalking, and conspiracy. The plea deal recommends a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison.