Wichita gamer charged over role in deadly swatting is in plea talks with prosecutors
A Wichita gamer facing federal charges over his role in 2017’s deadly swatting is in plea talks with prosecutors after his diversion fell through.
In a motion filed Monday seeking to delay two scheduled hearings, Shane Gaskill’s lawyer asked for a 60-day postponement because he said he “has only just started plea negotiations” after Gaskill was removed from his diversion plan for allegedly violating its terms. Prosecutors earlier this year asked the court to pull Gaskill off of diversion after he reportedly had difficulty completing a high-school equivalency program, due in part to class changes fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the time, he had already received a yearlong extension to his original 18-month diversion agreement. He was removed from his diversion plan last week.
One of the hearings the lawyer, Stephen Ariagno, sought to postpone was a pretrial status conference set for Thursday. The other was Gaskill’s Oct. 5 jury trial.
The federal prosecutor handling the case had no objection to moving the hearings, Ariagno wrote in Monday’s motion. They are now scheduled for Nov. 24 and Dec. 14 following U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren’s order granting the request.
Details of the plea negotiations were not disclosed in the document.
Gaskill, who previously pleaded not guilty, is charged with multiple counts of obstruction of justice, conspiracy to obstruct justice, wire fraud and making a false statement during an investigation over his role in events that culminated in the Dec. 28, 2017, fatal police shooting of 28-year-old Andrew Finch. Prosecutors allege Gaskill got into an online argument with Ohio gamer Casey Viner during a Call of Duty video game match and gave his old address to a California man Viner recruited to harass him.
Tyler Barriss of Los Angeles then used the bad information to report a fake homicide and hostage situation at the Wichita home, which drew an immediate response from police who didn’t know the call was a hoax.
Finch, who had no ties to any of the men or to online gaming, was fatally shot after he stepped onto his porch to see why emergency lights were outside.
The other men involved in the swatting received prison sentences. The Wichita police officer who killed Finch, Justin Rapp, was not criminally charged but is being sued by Finch’s family in civil court.
This story was originally published September 28, 2021 at 4:48 AM.
