Gamers in fatal ‘swatting’ case plead not guilty
WICHITA, Kan. — Two online gamers whose dispute over a $1.50 “Call of Duty WWII” video game bet allegedly led police to fatally shoot a Kansas man pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges in a “swatting” case that drew national attention.
Casey Viner, 18, of North College Hill, Ohio, and Shane Gaskill, 19, of Wichita, are charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice, wire fraud and other counts.
Viner allegedly became upset at Gaskill while playing the popular online game. Authorities say he then asked 25-year-old Tyler Barriss of Los Angeles to “swat” Gaskill at an address that Gaskill had previously provided him. Swatting is a form of retaliation sometimes used by gamers, who call police and make a false report to send first responders to an online opponent’s address.
Barriss is accused of calling Wichita police from Los Angeles on Dec. 28 to report a shooting and kidnapping at a Wichita address. Authorities say Barris researched the address Viner had given him for Gaskill and verified it was a home. When Gaskill noticed Barriss was following him on Twitter, he began communicating with Barriss through direct messages in which he also gave him that same old address and dared him to swat him.
“Please try some s---. I’ll be waiting,” Gaskill wrote in the direct messages cited in the indictment.
A police officer responding to the call fatally shot the new resident, Andrew Finch, 28, after he opened the door.
Defense attorneys for Viner and Barriss declined to comment, and the attorney for Gaskill did not immediately respond to an email.
Viner and Gaskill have not been arrested and both were instead issued a summons to appear at the hearing. They remain free on a $10,000 bond each and were ordered to find a job and not to play online video games or have contact with witnesses.
Gaskill showed up in court dressed mostly in black down to his black tie and shirt and Viner wore a dark suit with a blue shirt and gray tie. They looked ashen as they sat with their attorneys and respectfully answered routine questions from the judge before quietly pleading not guilty, the only plea the magistrate told them he could accept at this point.
Their court demeanor was a far cry from the bravado of the communications a forensic examination of Viner’s iPhone found after the news of the death in Wichita.