Sheriff Arrests Suspect for the June 2014 "Swatting" Prank Call

A suspect was apprehended who is accused of making a prank call last June 15 that initiated a full response of all area law enforcement agencies to a residence on Atlantic Road north of San Angelo for what was described as a hostage situation. The prank call was determined to be an act of “SWATting.”

Calls of this nature place law enforcement officers, emergency response personnel and citizens in a very dangerous situation. Law enforcement agencies around the country have recently been experiencing calls of this nature.

At 9:01 p.m. on June 15^, 2014, Texas DPS, Tom Green County Sheriff's Office and San Angelo Police Department personnel had roads in the area blocked off and a suspect was believed to be inside a residence in the 5300 block of Atlantic Road.

A large perimeter around the location was established. Deputies from the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office then established an inner perimeter around the residence.

At 10:25 p.m., officials gave an update including a description of the suspect and said it was believed he was not alone in the residence. Descriptions of various semi-automatic weapons in possession of a gunman inside the residence were reported over the radio. It was a potential hostage situation, reports at the time said.

A short time later, officials appeared to be in communication with someone inside the house, and within minutes, sent the all clear, saying four people were exiting the residence.

Lt Stacye Jackson, spokeswoman for the Sheriff said that night: "We had a prank call come in tonight and as it's a serious nature, we investigate everything thoroughly and it was found to be a prank call.... everybody in the residence is fine and the officers are fine and it's 100 percent a prank call."

The Sheriff said today that the call was originally made to the San Angelo Police Department. The caller informed dispatch that an individual had murdered his father and kidnapped his mother.

This incident was happening in the wake of a similar set of circumstances that occurred off Sutton Road in Grape Greek two weeks prior, on June 3, 2014, where a son shot his mother and her lawyer before engaging in a multi-hour standoff with law enforcement.

Since Atlantic Road is in the county outside the city limits, the Sheriff had jurisdiction over the incident.

The prank caller was apprehended in Las Vegas, the Sheriff said. The investigation involved multiple agencies in addition to the local Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division (CID), including the FBI, Las Vegas Metro Police, and the Hesperia (California) Police Department.

A Sheriff’s Office CID investigator traveled to Las Vegas where he met with law enforcement agencies. Together, they successfully executed a search warrant that led to the arrest of Brandon Wilson, 19, of Las Vegas. He is accused of placing the “swatting” call. The Sheriff said that the call originated in Tom Green County.

The Sheriff and the FBI will present the case to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.