A man busted for allegedly phoning in a fake hostage situation — leading to an innocent Kansas dad’s shooting death by cops — is a serial prankster with a record of phony police calls, according to reports Saturday.
Tyler Barriss, 25, was busted by Los Angeles police Friday in connection to the “swatting” death of Andrew Finch, 28, 1,400 miles away in Wichita, authorities said.
Three years ago, a then-22-year-old Barriss was arrested for phoning in a fake bomb threat to KABC-TV studios in Glendale, Calif., according to the Southern California ABC affiliate.
He was sentenced to two years behind bars, KABC reported.
It wasn’t clear if Barriss ever served that time. Reps from the Glendale police and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office could not be immediately reached for comment Saturday.
Finch was killed early Thursday evening when a hoaxer, believed to be Barriss, called Wichita police to say he had just shot his dad and was holding his mom and brother hostage.
The caller included dramatic detail, saying he had doused his house at 1033 W. McCormick St. with gas and was ready burn it down.
Police surrounded the house when Finch, a father of two, stepped outside, officials said.
Wichita police said they ordered Finch to raise his hands but he allegedly moved them down to his waist at least twice, before an officer opened fire and killed the man with one shot.
Finch was unarmed.
Heartbroken mom Lisa Finch said her son was a gifted artist.
“He would draw any picture,” she told the Eagle newspaper of Wichita. “He would do anything for his family.”