3 men charged with conspiracy to make 'swatting' calls

By The Associated Press January 23, 2019 at 4:58pm

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Three men have been charged with conspiracy to help a Los Angeles man make phony emergency “swatting” calls around the nation in hopes of sending police to the scene or forcing building evacuations.

Federal indictments unsealed Wednesday in Los Angeles allege they conspired with Tyler Barriss in 2017 to make bomb and shooting reports to police, a high school and convention center in Connecticut, Texas, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri and Illinois.

Barriss pleaded guilty in November to making hoax calls, including one that led a Wichita, Kansas, police officer answering a shooting call to kill an innocent man.

The Los Angeles indictment names Neal Patel of Des Plaines, Illinois; Tyler Stewart of Gulf Breeze, Florida; and Logan Patten of Greenwood, Missouri.

Two are in custody. It’s unclear if the men have lawyers.

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