Suspect in deadly 911 hoax has history of making phony calls
LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles man suspected of making a hoax emergency call that led to the fatal police shooting of a Kansas man told a judge Wednesday he would not fight efforts to send him to Wichita to face charges.
Tyler Barriss, 25, was held without bail after waiving his right to an extradition hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Barriss stood behind a glass wall dressed in black with his hands cuffed at his waist and provided brief answers to a judge’s questions, acknowledging he was the wanted man and had voluntarily signed the waiver.
Police have said Andrew Finch, 28, was shot after a prankster called 911 last week with a fake story about a shooting and kidnapping at Finch’s Wichita home.
Barriss has been charged in Kansas with making a false alarm, according to court papers. The charge for calling police or a fire department and knowingly giving false information is a low-level felony in Kansas that carries a maximum of 34 months in prison.
Other charges could be filed after Wichita prosecutors review the results of a police investigation.
A more serious potential state charge would be second-degree murder for unintentionally causing a death by reckless actions, said Elizabeth Cateforis, a law professor at the University of Kansas. That can carry a sentence of up to about 20 years.
Another option may be an involuntary manslaughter charge in which a death is caused by a person acting recklessly or in the commission of another felony. That carries a maximum sentence of a little over 10 years.