A 19-year-old Casey Viner has now been sentenced in the USA. He was involved in a swatting incident that resulted in an innocent person’s death in December 2017. The tragic incident originated from a bet regarding Call of Duty: WW2, involving $1.50. Viner stated that he thought the swatting was a harmless joke.
This is the verdict: The 19-year-old Casey Viner was sentenced to 15 months in prison by a district court in Wichita, Kansas, on Friday.
He is also prohibited from engaging in any gaming activities for 2 years after serving his sentence. During this time, he will be under supervision.
The prosecutor and defense had requested a 2-year sentence that should have been suspended for probation. According to their request, Viner would have been required to undergo 6 months of house arrest. Both the attorney and the defender also requested the gaming restriction.
However, the judge stated that incarceration was necessary to reflect the seriousness of the crime and to show the public that the system works.
How does the boy accept the verdict? It is said that the 19-year-old swallowed hard several times and looked dejected when he heard the verdict.
He looked up at the gallery in the courtroom where his parents were sitting: his mother left the courtroom in tears, and his father buried his head in his hands.
Viner expressed that he feels terrible about what happened. He never intended for such a thing to occur. He thinks about it every day.
Viner’s attorney stated that the boy himself had been swatted just 20 days before the incident. He deeply regrets the act. Viner had lost 10 kilograms in recent months and contemplated the severity of his actions, which resulted from something he thought was a harmless joke.
Viner had just turned 18 two weeks before the swatting incident.
Betting $1.50 costs an innocent life
This is what the 19-year-old did: We have reported several times about the swatting incident from 2017 and its aftermath. From what is known, the now 19-year-old Viner had made a $1.50 bet with the now 20-year-old Shawn Gaskill regarding a Call of Duty game.
The two argued, and Viner decided to “swat” the 20-year-old after he challenged him to “try something.” In swatting, an emergency situation is falsely reported via phone with the intent that the police respond with force.
However, the 20-year-old did not give Viner his actual address but rather a false address. Viner then provided this address to Tyler Barriss, a 26-year-old known as a swatter, who made the call.
Barriss falsely claimed a hostage situation, creating the impression of a life-and-death scenario.
This call led to a police response in Wichita, Kansas, where an innocent person lost their life. The 28-year-old Andrew Finch lived at the false address that Gaskill had given to Viner.
The police arrived at Finch’s house, set up an operation, and demanded that the alleged hostage-taker come out. Finch emerged from the house and was shot because the police believed he had made a suspicious movement.
Viner later admitted that he had attempted to cover up the incident in hopes of evading punishment. However, a forensic investigation of Viner’s iPhone had found a deleted message in which he said: “I was involved in someone’s death.”
This is the current situation:
- The 19-year-old Casey Viner has now been sentenced to 15 months.
- The 20-year-old Shawn Gaskill has apparently made a deal with authorities – which could result in him going free. Reports say NBCNews.
- The “swatter” himself, Tyler Barriss, received a 20-year prison sentence – he was charged with multiple offenses.
- The family of the deceased has sued the city of Wichita and the police officers. The responsible prosecutor there decided not to file charges against the officer who fired the shot at Finch.
Swatting is a recurring problem in gaming: