A man in Washington state has been sentenced to two and a half years in a federal prison for his role in a "SWATTing" conspiracy that included prank calls intended to scramble the police and SWAT teams in Alvarado and Fort Worth on unsuspecting victims.
Guadalupe Santana Martinez, 32, is one of several defendants in the nationwide swatting conspiracy.
The series of gags, according to federal prosecutors, "involved more than 250 victims, up to $250,000 in losses, and disruption of services for telecommunications providers and emergency responders" (like the SWAT team pictured here Denton County and Lewisville SWAT team pictured here in a file photo from the Star-Telegram's archives).
Martinez was also ordered to pay restitution of $24,706.73, said U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas in a news release.
Martinez and fellow pranksters used elaborate schemes involving computers and "spoof cards" to complete the gags while concealing their identities. That's what happened in June 2006 when members of a party line chat group tried to "swat" a family in Alvarado. The gag was intended to harass a member of that family who was in the pranksters' chat group.
He also called police and said he killed family members and that he was holding hostages. He did the same thing a few months later with a call to Fort Worth police, according to court records.
Click here to read more about Martinez and members of his telephone chat group pulled similar pranks across the nation.
-- Bill Miller
Sad that those fruitcakes couldn't find something better to do with their time than waste the time and resources of law officials.
Posted by: TLC | March 13, 2008 at 01:07 PM
YES I WOULD LIKE TO LEAVE A COMMENT DUE TO THE FACT THAT I AM ONE OF THE VICTIM'S THAT HE SENT THE SWAT TEAM TO MY HOUSE TWO-THREE TIMES....AND I THINK THAT THIS JERK DESERVES MORE TIME....HE HAS CAUSED ME SUCH GREIF, AND I REALLY DONT FEEL SORRY FOR HIM AT ALL...WELP AT LEAST WHEN HE GETS OUT AND HE TRIES THIS STUNT AGAIN..HE GOING TO BE IN FOR A LONGER AMOUNT OF TIME...I WOULD LIKE TO THANK TEXAS FOR BEING HARD ON THESE FELONS AND THANX FOR KEEPING HIM BEHIND BARS FOR THE LITTLE TIME THAT HE IS IN THERE....I KNOW THAT IT IS SO SAD TO WASTE OUR MONEY ON IDIOTS LIKE THIS....AND THE REASON WHY THEY CAME AFTER ME WAS BECAUSE I RAN MY MOUTH ON A PARTYLINE AND TALKED SMACK TO THEM AND THEY THOUGHT THAT IT WOULD BE FUN, AND EXCITEMENT OUT OF THIS,,,,AND THEY ALSO TRIED TO MAKE ME AFRAID TO KEEP M E OFF THE PARTYLINE...WELP IT DIDNT WORK....BUT HEY YOU LIVE AND LEARN....HERE A LITTLE ADVISE FOR YA....PARTYLINE--EQUALS--FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY......
HAVE A NICE DAY NEXT TO BABA!!! LMFAO!!!
Posted by: A VICTIM | March 13, 2008 at 04:58 PM