A Los Angeles man pleaded guilty Tuesday in Kansas to federal charges involving a false 911 call that could send him to prison for 20 years or more, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Tyler Barriss, 25, pleaded guilty to causing a fatal “swatting” incident in Wichita on Dec. 28, as well as dozens of similar crimes in which no one was injured. In those cases, Barriss was charged in federal courts in Los Angeles and the District of Columbia, according to the DOJ.
In the Wichita case, Barriss entered guilty pleas to federal charges of making a false 911 report resulting in a death, cyberstalking, and conspiracy.
“Without ever stepping foot in Wichita, the defendant created a chaotic situation that quickly turned from dangerous to deadly,” said U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister of the district of Kansas. “His reasons were trivial and his disregard for the safety of other people was staggering.”
In the Kansas case, Barriss admitted making hoax calls that resulted in Wichita police surrounding an old house at 1033 W. McCormick. When officers arrived, they believed there was a man inside who had killed his own father and was holding family members hostage. A man who came outside to face police, however, had done nothing wrong and did not know about the call. As he stepped onto the porch, police told him to put up his hands. When he unexpectedly dropped his hands, he was shot and killed.
In the case filed last month in Los Angeles, Barriss pleaded guilty to 46 counts, including making calls dating back to September and October of 2015 that falsely reported that bombs were planted at high schools, universities, shopping malls and TV stations, including a local ABC affiliate. He made the calls from Los Angeles to emergency numbers in Ohio, New Hampshire, Nevada, Massachusetts, Illinois, Utah, Virginia, Texas, Arizona, Missouri, Maine, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, New York, Michigan, Florida and Canada.
In the case from the District of Columbia, Barriss pleaded guilty to making hoax bomb threats in phone calls to the headquarters of the FBI and the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, D.C.
Two co-defendants in the Wichita case — Casey Viner, 18, of North College Hill, Ohio, and Shane Gaskill, 20, of Wichita — are awaiting trial.
In Barriss’ plea, he admitted he got involved with Viner and Gaskill after they had a falling out while playing the game Call of Duty online. As a result, Viner, who was in Ohio, asked Barriss, who was in Los Angeles, to swat Gaskill, who was in Wichita, the plea states.
Gaskill found out Barriss was stalking him and in messages over the internet he dared Barriss to carry out the swat. Gaskill fooled Barriss, however, by claiming to live at 1033 W. McCormick. In fact, Gaskill no longer lived there.
Sentencing is set for Jan. 30 before U.S. District Court Judge Eric Melgren in Kansas.