A young local man was convicted Wednesday of offences stemming from so-called "swatting" calls he made to cops south of the border about an active shooter at a school and a hostage situation in central Florida.
William Tuckett, 21, pleaded guilty to conveying false information with the intention to injure or harm a person when he appeared in a Sault Ste. Marie courtroom.
The Prince Township resident admitted he made anonymous false 911 calls to the Marion County Sheriff's office in Ocala, Florida on Feb. 16 and 17.
SEE: 'I’m about to shoot someone': Florida cops say Sault man made this hoax 911 call
Ontario Court Justice Romuald Kwolek heard he contacted the deputies at 4:06 p.m. on the first date.
Identifying himself as "Nick," Tuckett indicated he was calling from a red SUV, was armed with an AR-15 and was heading to a middle school in Dunnellan.
He said he was feeling suicidal, was tired of being bullied and was going to shoot children, prosecutor Robert Skeggs told the court.
The accused then said he had the gun pointed at a student and was going to shoot him.
At the time, there still were students at the school waiting for buses or participating in programs, the assistant Crown attorney said.
Police, including tactical and emergency units, flooded the area, but didn't find anyone and determined there was no danger.
The following day, Tuckett called the sheriff's office at 5: 27 a.m. to report a hostage-taking incident at an Ocala address.
He identified himself to the dispatcher as a father who was holding his daughter at gunpoint, Skeggs said.
Officers responded, searched the residence and arrested a man.
After speaking to all the people in the home, they determined none of them had any knowledge of a hostage-taking incident.
"They were clearly asleep at the time," the Crown told the court.
Skeggs said Tuckett's "ex-girlfriend" was a student at the school.
The pair had communicated on Snapchat for three months but had never met each other.
In a phone call with the then 13-year-old girl, he admitted calling the cops and reporting the hostage-taking incident, claiming he was her father, and was armed.
She provided his name and address to the officers.
The girl indicated that in previous conversations Tuckett had said he would "swat" her school if she didn't date him.
Between Feb. 18 and March 18, he made dozens of other false anonymous calls to the Marion County police regarding the girl, her family and friends, the court heard.
The Florida cops contacted the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service on March 18.
Three days later, he was arrested and charged with three counts of public mischief and three counts of conveying false information.
At the request of defence counsel Bruce Willson, sentencing was adjourned until Sept. 18 so a pre-sentence report can be prepared.