21-Year-Old Western WA Man Gets 3 Years for ‘Swatting’ Calls

Swatting is an ugly, dangerous practice of placing a fake call to law enforcement or emergency services and sending them to an unsuspecting person's home. Authorities say tragically there have even been a handful of fatal shootings involved in these.

 Bremerton WA Man gets 3 years

  21-year-old Ashton Connor Garcia will spend 3 years in jail after he pleaded guilty in January to 2 counts of threats of extortion and two counts of threats or hoaxes involving explosives.

He was linked to at least 20 swatting incidents or other threats in multiple states stemming back to 2022. He coerced money, personal information, and other items from victims by threatening to call law enforcement on them, he even demanded sexually explicit pictures.

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He used Voice Over Internet, or VOIP technology to disguise his voice, and also social media to help 'boost' his calls. According to KIRO News in Seattle:

"The plea agreement details 20 different false emergency reports targeting victims in California, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington and Edmonton, Alberta, according to prosecutors."

He made fake bomb threats against the FOX TV station in Cleveland, and against an airliner flight headed from Hawaii to LA, among his crimes.