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A California man accused of making a hoax emergency call that led to the fatal police shooting of an unarmed man in Kansas has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Key points:
- Involuntary manslaughter carries a sentence of 31 to 136 months
- Barriss was convicted in 2016 on two counts of making a false bomb report to a TV station
- Andrew Finch was shot on his doorstep by police who were called to his house
Tyler Barriss made his first court appearance in Kansas via video link from jail on Friday following his extradition from Los Angeles.
The 25-year-old is also charged with giving false alarm and interference with a law enforcement officer.
Bond was set at $500,000.
Relatives identified the victim as 28-year-old Andrew Finch.
Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett told reporters following the brief hearing that he was still reviewing whether any charges will be filed against the police officer, and once he made a determination that decision would be made public.
He said he was awaiting a final autopsy report.
The hoax call reportedly was made after a dispute over a small wager online in a "Call of Duty" video game tournament, according to Dexerto, a news service focused on gaming.
Other people alleged to be involved in the game are under investigation, Mr Bennett said, which involves a forensic analysis of machines, phones and computers.
"There is no other situation quite like this to reference," Mr Bennett said.
Bennett acknowledged the "sort of novelty" of the case, noting the public interest in it and questions about whether laws regarding computer-related crimes need to be changed.
"The law is catching up with technology," he said.
In Kansas, involuntary manslaughter carries a sentence of 31 to 136 months, depending on a defendant's criminal history, Mr Bennett said.
Prosecutors allege Barriss was in Los Angeles when he called police on December 28 with a fake story about a shooting and kidnapping at a home in Wichita, Kansas.
The caller who phoned Wichita police said in a relatively calm voice that he had shot his father in the head and was holding his mother and a sibling at gunpoint, according to the 911 recording.
He said he poured gasoline inside the home and "might just set it on fire".
When police responded to the address, an officer fatally shot 28-year-old Andrew Finch after he opened his door.
Police have said he moved a hand toward his waistband and an officer, fearing he was reaching for a gun, fired a single shot and killed him.
Finch was unarmed.
Barris has a history of making such hoax calls, which are sometimes called "swatting".
Court records showed Barriss was convicted in 2016 on two counts of making a false bomb report to a TV station in Glendale, California, and sent to Los Angeles County jail for two years. Jail records show he was released in January.
AP
Topics: law-crime-and-justice, police, games-on-the-web, internet-culture, united-states
First posted