British video gamer, 28, avoids jail over hoax call to US police

Robert Walker-McDaid, 28, rang a Maryland state terrorism hotline on behalf of an online gaming friend in the US

Tyran Dobbs, pictured, was shot in the face with a plastic bullet during a raid on his apartment in Maryland after a SWAT team responded to bogus reports of a hostage situation

Robert Walker-McDaid (pictured) is the first British person to be charged for taking part in the 'swatting' craze

A court heard that as a result of the call in February 2015, armed officers supported by hostage negotiators and tactical units descended on Mr Dobbs' home.

His 'failure to comply sufficiently with instructions to keep his hands up' led to Mr Dobbs being shot in the chest and face with rubber bullets.

Yesterday, more than nine years after the incident, Walker-McDaid walked free from court with a suspended sentence.

Prosecutor Matthew Barnes said: 'Walker-McDaid was asked by an online friend called Zachary Lee to help him in swatting a man in the USA - swatting being the summoning of a Special Weapons and Tactics team to another's address.'

US authorities previously told how Walker-McDaid had responded 'I'll do it when I'm up', when Lee made his request via the Skype internet telephone service.

Mr Barnes said the defendant called the hotline claiming to be 'holding three hostages with a firearm and explosives' and issued a $15,000 (£12,051) ransom to be paid within 15 minutes or the 'hostages will be executed'.

'Mr Dobbs' address was provided', the barrister said. 'Armed police were deployed along with tactical units and hostage negotiators.'

Walker-McDaid rang the hotline posing as Tyran Dobbs (pictured) - who he did not know - and claimed to have three hostages who would be 'executed' that afternoon

Robert Walker-McDaid seen leaving Warwick Crown Court this afternoon

Mr Dobbs suffered fractures to his nose, eye socket and upper pallet, and a broken wrist. He required reconstructive surgery.

Mr Barnes told Warwick Crown Court said the defendant had made other false calls to the police and had 'bragged about how easy it had been' to dupe the US police.

The court heard Lee was arrested and later pleaded guilty to providing false information, receiving a two-year prison term.

Howard County Police Department, the FBI and Interpol enquiries traced Walker-McDaid to his Coventry, West Midlands home via his Skype account with the username 'Meowobikiniz'.

He received notification 'out of the blue' in 2016 that he was subject to a US criminal investigation.

The following year he was formally indicted, triggering 'protracted extradition proceedings', with the application ultimately refused, on appeal, by a British judge due to his medical circumstances and family background.

The court heard the defendant had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and had discovered his father deceased during the three year extradition proceedings.

The case was then handed to West Midlands Police to investigate and Walker-McDaid made full admissions when interviewed in September 2021.

He said he had been 'haunted' by what happened to Mr Dobbs and said he hadn't considered the consequences of his call. The court heard Walker-McDaid said he 'felt like he had been in a video game'.

Walker-McDaid was sentenced to 20 months' in prison, suspended for 18 months after he admitted perverting the course of justice at Warwick Crown Court (pictured)

The court was told there was no evidence that Mr Dobbs, from Ellicott City, Maryland, had sold drugs to anyone.

Proceedings then stalled again due to delays caused in obtaining evidence from US authorities and an initial decision by the West Midlands force to deal with the defendant by way of a caution, which was opposed by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Walker-McDaid, who the court heard now has a full-time job paying £36,000-a-year, pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice in January and returned to court for sentencing this morning.

David Williams, defending, said the case was one of 'serious criminality' and Lee had been 'on the toxic fringes of the online gaming community', but said the defendant's remorse, neurodivergence, family history and early guilty plea were all factors which could allow for a suspended sentence.

Judge Anthony Potter agreed, handing the defendant a 20-month sentence, suspended for 18 months. Walker-McDaid was also ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work in the community, complete a ten-hour rehabilitation requirement and pay Mr Dobbs £1,000 in compensation.

The judge said there was no evidence Walker-McDaid continued to possess 'criminal attitudes' and said he believed the defendant could be successfully rehabilitated.

The court heard that although Walker-McDaid had first come into contact with Lee online in 2012 when he was 16, but had never been to America.

He had no previous convictions.

Following the incident, Mr Dobbs criticised police for their response and asked why they did not check the authenticity of the call before acting.

Officers reportedly ignored his father, Tom, and his cousin telling them there was no hostage situation and that the so-called hostage taker was actually asleep.

In an interview with a US news channel , Mr Dodds said: 'How did y'all not trace this call back? How did y'all not figure out where it came from?'

While swatting is not an offence under UK law, Hannah Sidaway, Specialist Prosecutor for CPS West Midlands, said the craze was 'no joke', adding: 'It is a serious crime that can have life-changing consequences - as this victim's terrible injuries clearly show.

'Walker-McDaid's cowardly online act had a devastating impact on a victim in the real world, and he wrongly thought hiding behind anonymity would allow him to escape justice.

'His conviction proves these offenders cannot hide from the full force of the law.'

Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, said: 'We will continue to use every tool at our disposal and work closely with our international partners to ensure that those who seek to harm Americans will face justice, wherever they may be.'