Las Vegas Teen Arrested For Swatting Pranks

A 19-year-old was arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada on Thursday for his involvement in a swatting prank that took place in July in Illinois. Evidence was found on Brandon Wilson's computers linking him to the July 10th incident in which a SWAT team was called to respond to a murder, sending officers barging into his victim's home with weapons drawn. Wilson, who uses the online handle "Famed God," is scheduled to appear in court on Monday, where it will be decided if he should be sent to Illinois to face charges.

Illinois prosecutors accuse Wilson of making the hoax call to the 911 emergency phone line and reporting a murder in the city of Naperville. Authorities say his computers also contained evidence that he participated in several other swatting pranks across the country.

In addition to hoax calls to law enforcement, Wilson may also be facing hacking charges, as he is said to have hacked the game consoles belonging to two individuals, as well as banking information of another and threatening to put them "in debt for life." The teenager may stand trial for computer tampering, identity theft, and intimidation, facing a maximum of five years in prison.

The dangerous prank of swatting is sadly becoming more and more common these days, often coming from online harassers and targeting prominent members of the gaming world. Wilson's arrest actually took place on the same day that a gamer popular for his live streams was swatted in front of an audience of thousands of viewers. In addition, it was less than a month ago that another suspect arrested for swatting pranks was sentenced to a five-year jail term.

SOURCE Chicago Sun Times