Man Sentenced to 15 Months and Banned from Gaming After Fatal Swatting Incident - IGN, IGN

Casey Viner, an Ohio gamer who fatally “swatted” another player, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for hiring someone to make a prank emergency call to the police that led to the fatal shooting. Viner is also banned from gaming for two years.Swatting is where the perpetratormakes a false emergency callon someone in the hopes of getting the police or other law enforcement to show up unexpectedly at the victim’s house. Viner, 19, was upset after losing a $ 1. 50 bet in a game ofCall of Duty: WW2

and hired someone else to make a prank call to the police.

This led to the death of 28 – year old Andrew Finch in Wichita, Kansas. Back in April, Viner pleaded guilty to felony charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice as Viner tried to hide his involvement in the crime during the investigation.

Viner’s lawyers recommended two years’ probation, butNBCreported that US District Judge Eric Melgren sentenced Viner to 15 months of prison, plus a two-year ban on gaming activities.

Swatting is an increasingly scrutinized crime as the practice has drawn major media attention in recent years. Earlier this year, Tyler Rai Barriss, who Viner hired to make the call, was sentenced in Kansas for the fatal Swatting incidentto 20 yearsin prison . Watch our video on the Call of Duty swatting case below.

States like California and New Jersey introduced legislation to increase the punishment for Swatting, and a bipartisan bill in Congress made Swatting a federal crime.Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN. You can reach him onTwitter.