TACOMA, Wash. — Editor's note: The above video originally aired March 30, 2023.
A Bremerton man pleaded guilty Thursday to four federal felony charges related to a "swatting" campaign that covered multiple states and Canada.
According to the federal indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, Ashton Connor Garcia, 20, made more than 20 "swatting" calls to law enforcement between June and September 2022. He was originally charged with 10 felony counts. He remains detained at a federal facility in SeaTac.
Threats and hoaxes involving explosives are punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Prosecutors agreed to recommend no more than four years in prison.
A swatting call is defined as a hoax 911 call that typically involves extreme violence and is aimed at diverting emergency public resources to an unsuspecting person’s home.
Garcia targeted victims in California, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington, and in Edmonton and Alberta, Canada.
He gathered personal information about his victims and then threatened them with harm. In some cases, he demanded money, virtual currency, credit card information, or sexually explicit photos from some people he threatened.
Garcia used voice-over-internet technology to disguise his voice and used false identities to make fake reports to non-emergency police numbers. He falsely claimed to have placed explosives in particular locations, as well as claimed individuals committed crimes such as murder, rape and kidnapping.
“Every time Mr. Garcia is alleged to have made one of his false reports to law enforcement, he triggered a potentially deadly event – sending heavily armed police officers to an address where they mistakenly believed they would confront someone who was armed and dangerous,” former U.S. Attorney Nick Brown said at the time Garcia was indicted. “Fortunately, no one was hurt, but the unpredictable and terrifying dynamic these calls created for Mr. Garcia’s alleged victims cannot be overstated. There is nothing funny about abusing emergency resources and intentionally placing people in harm’s way.”