Arrested Swatter Faces Maximum Five Year Prison Sentence

Cases of serious hoax calls to the police, known as Swatting, have become increasingly prevalent in the past two years. The process involves obtaining someone's home address (usually via their IP address) and making a distress call to the police. Often the hoaxer will use masking software that makes the call appear to come from the victim's house.

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A 19 Year-Old American, suspected of conducting dangerous hoax police calls across the country, was arrested in Las Vegas on Thursday.

Brandon Wilson, known as "Famed ? " in some online communities, faces up to five years in jail if found guilty. It is alleged that, in July last year, he made a bogus call to Chicago police that convinced the force to raid a house in Illinois.

Wilson was tracked down by investigators based in Illinois, who seized his computer equipment and--according to prosecutors--found evidence of the swatting incident as well as similar incidents across the country.

Cases of serious hoax calls to the police, known as Swatting, have become increasingly prevalent in the past two years. The process involves obtaining someone's home address (usually via their IP address) and making a distress call to the police. Often the hoaxer will use masking software that makes the call appear to come from the victim's house.

While no one has yet died from Swatting, one victim believes the punishment for the culprits should be an attempted murder sentence.

By apparent coincidence, Wilson's arrest occurred on the same day as one Twitch streamer, Joshua Peters, broke down in tears on camera after discovering his family had been Swatted while he was broadcasting a game of Runescape.

"I had police point a gun at my little brothers because of you," Peters said in a message to the anonymous culprit, who had also posted his address on the Twitch stream chat log.

"They could have been shot, they could have died because you chose to SWAT my stream," he said, holding his emotions.

"I don't give a ? about what you have against me, or what I did to you. For that, I am at a loss for words. Your gripe is with me so let it be with me and do not involve my family in any way, shape or form with this. They don't deserve that."

Wilson is now awaiting extradition to Illinois, and faces up to five years in prison if convicted. State Attorney James Glasgow wants to introduce new legislation that would identify Swatting as a specific felony in Illinois.