Man who made 'swatting' call causing police response in Elyria gets 2 years in prison

ELYRIA — A Sheffield man hung his head in Lorain County Common Pleas Court on Friday upon learning he will spend double the sentence recommended by prosecutors for calling 911 and making a false report an armed person at a Second Street bank branch in January. The Lorain County Prosecutor's Office had recommended Jeremy Oster, 33, of Waterford Circle, spend one year in prison after pleading guilty earlier this month to one count each of tampering with evidence, swatting and inducing panic. Judge Donna Freeman doubled that Friday, sentencing Oster to two years in prison. She said he had been under orders to be on good behavior in another criminal case when he did what he did. Prosecutors and defense attorneys can recommend a sentence, but the final decision typically is up to the judge. Freeman said she was concerned that the reason Oster did what he did was to cover up an illegal drug deal, and the number of people who had to respond to his false call. His actions caused "a lot of panic and concern for all those individuals around there," she said. "That's all concerning to this court." Oster dropped his head as Freeman pronounced sentence. He had just apologized to the "entire" Elyria Police Department and the court "for what happened." "I didn't know the ramifications of my actions and I apologize for that and I just want to rewrite my wrongs and be a law-abiding citizen and go back to being a father, what I'm proud of being, a father to my children," Oster said in court. Defense attorney William Willis asked for possible community control, formerly called probation. He said his client "fully cooperated" with Elyria police when arrested and accepted responsibility early in the case for acting as a "spotter" in a drug deal. "Swatting" is a crime where someone calls police and falsely reports an emergency so heavily armed police such as SWAT teams respond to a specific location. Similar scams have resulted in death or injuries, though no one was injured after Oster made his call just after 11:30 a.m. Jan. 9. Assistant Prosecutor Susan Oates said Oster was acting as a lookout during a drug deal when he called police to report "a man with an assault rifle" at the unstaffed PNC Bank branch ATM on Second Street in Elyria. Twenty-two heavily armed Elyria police officers, State Highway Patrol troopers and Lorain County Sheriff's deputies responded to the call. No gunman was found. Multiple Elyria streets were closed down and employees of nearby businesses were told to shelter indoors. Authorities traced the call back to Oster, who told officers he made it to help a friend. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.