Ohio Gamer Sentenced to 15 Months in Jail Following Fatal Swatting Incident
Kansas has proven that the practice of “swatting” is a serious offense. Ohio Casey Viner, a gamer from Ohio, has been sentenced to 15 months in jail for his role in the 2017 swatting incident that led to the death of Wichita’s Andrew Finch. Additionally he’s also been banned from playing games for two years.
If you haven’t heard about “swatting” it’s when someone makes a false emergency call leading police to show up unexpectedly at another person’s house. In this particular instance Casey Viner was upset after he lost a bet for $1.50 during a game on Call of Duty: WWII. His reaction was to hire someone else to prank call the police and send them to the victim’s house. This incident however, led to the death of 28-year-old Andrew Finch from Wichita, Kansas, though the intended victim was a Shane Gaskill, who used to live at that same address previously.
Earlier this year, in April, Viner guilty to felony charges of conspiracy, as well as obstruction of justice because Viner originally tried to hide his involvement during the subsequent investigation. Although Viner’s defense attorneys were recommending that he receive 2 years probation, U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren has sentenced Viner to 15 months in prison, as well as a two-year gaming ban. In a brief courtroom address, Viner had this to say, “I never intended for anything to happen. I think of it every day.”
The person Viner hired to make the prank call that resulted in this fatal “swatting” event, Tyler R. Barriss, was sentenced back in March to 20 years in jail after pleading guilty to multiple counts of making fake emergency calls all over the USA. And Shane Gaskill, the intended victim, was also charged as a co-conspirator in this “swatting” incident as a result of taunting Barriss to “try something”.
Without question, “swatting” is never an acceptable practice. It’s definitely good to see some consequences coming down the pipe for some of those individuals involved in this very sad occurrence. What do you think about Venir’s punishment? Let us know what you think in the comments below and don’t forget to keep it locked for everything gaming.