Why Did a Man Who Livestreamed Himself Shooting a Homeless Person Get 3 Years in Jail?
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Hoyt Webb, 36, of Idaho, said he was filming "the homeless epidemic" when he shot an unarmed homeless man in June, authorities say
KREM 2 News/YouTube Hoyt Webb
An Idaho man who admitted to livestreaming himself shooting and seriously wounding a homeless person in downtown Spokane, Wash., was sentenced to 39 months in jail.In a plea agreement with prosecutors, Hoyt Webb, 36, of Coeur d'Alene, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault, online court records show.The shooting left the victim, Thomas Hatch, 47, suffering from life-threatening injuries, including losing a kidney and half of his bowels as well as damage to a coronary artery, Fox28 Spokane reports.The victim’s brother, Eric Kessler, expressed shock at the length of the sentence Webb received. “I still don’t believe what he got was fair,” he said, local station Fox28 Spokane reports.The shooting took place Friday, June 8, at about 7:15 p.m., when Webb was walking near Division Street and Short Avenue in Spokane, carrying a selfie stick and saying he was filming the “homeless epidemic” for his YouTube channel, the “Kootenai County Press,” according to court documents reviewed by PEOPLE.But according to court documents, Webb yelled obscenities at people in a 7-Eleven parking lot, which led to an argument between Webb and some of the people who were there, local outlet KHQ reports.
According to court documents obtained by local outlet KXLY, Webb claimed he saw a man wielding a machete get into an argument with another person.Webb then went to his car and grabbed his gun, the court documents state.The livestream posted to Webb’s YouTube channel then shows him pointing the gun and firing it at Hatch from a “first person point of view,” KXLY reports."It's gonna be a bad idea if they pull anything out on me, 'cause I'm pro-Second Amendment,” Webb can be heard yelling at the start of the livestream, court records show, KXLY reports. “I don't have a felony so I can carry a gun, and I have a concealed firearm permit."Was It Self-Defense?Webb claimed he shot Hatch to protect himself, officers on the scene said, court records obtained by PEOPLE show.In the livestream, Webb can be heard yelling at someone to drop a rock, saying striking someone with a rock would be assault with a weapon, court records show, local outlet KGW reports.Webb then fired the gun in what he claimed was was an initial warning shot, yelling "back the f--- up," court records show, according to KXLY.Webb fired the gun again, which struck Hatch in the torso. The victim was rushed to a local hospital.But police said the livestream captured Hatch coming toward Webb carrying an iced coffee — and nothing else, KXLY reports.Besides being sentenced to jail time, Webb will also serve 18 months of community custody, Fox28 Spokane reprots.Webb has also been ordered to have no contact with Hatch for ten years.Kessler said he watched the livestream, which has since been taken down.“I heard that slide hammer cocked back,” he told Fox28 Spokane. “I stopped the video right there for a second, gained my senses, and then pressed play.”His brother, he said, is a good person who has battled addiction, he told Fox 28 Spokane. “It’s more than an addiction,” he said. "It’s more of a disease.”His attorney did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People.
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