New Mexico Man Pleads Guilty to “Swatting” Incidents in Georgetown
A New Mexico has pleaded guilty before US District Judge for the District of Delaware, Richard Andrews, to making interstate bomb threats. In May of 2018, 29 year old Stephen Landes of Roswell, New Mexico posed as someone else who lives in Georgetown when he made bomb threats against the Georgetown Walmart and Georgetown Elementary School. Officials say this is a case of “swatting” which involves making hoax emergency calls that will bring an armed police response to harass someone believed to be at that location at the time. Officials believe this started with an online feud with Rodney Allen Phipps of Georgetown, who is also charged with making bogus reports of shootings and other emergencies at locations in five states. Landes will be sentenced on November 27th – he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
