Hoyt Webb (KXLY).
An Idaho man who livestreamed himself shooting a homeless man in downtown Spokane, Washington, will serve a little over three years in jail after making a plea deal.
Hoyt Webb, 36, will spend 37 months in custody for the shooting of Thomas Hatch, 47. Webb pleaded guilty to second-degree assault.
The victim’s brother, Eric Kessler, was unhappy about the punishment, local Fox and MyNetworkTV affiliate KAYU reported.
“I still don’t believe what he got was fair,” he told the outlet.
Hatch was shot on June 7 near a 7-Eleven in an area of downtown Spokane that the mayor declared to be in a state of emergency in response to the opioid crisis.
The “Trump 2024” hat-wearing, selfie stick-carrying Webb, with a gun strapped to his chest, was livestreaming the “homeless epidemic” on his “Kootenai County Press” YouTube page when he shot Hatch. The stream is no longer his site, but local ABC affiliate KXLY aired clips.
Webb’s YouTube page says he’s a credentialed reporter and photographer with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA). On its website, the CFAPA says it provides credentials “free of charge to any adult American Citizen who accepts the constitutional Journalist’s Pledge and who agrees to CFAPA’s Member Terms and Conditions.”
The bloodshed happened after Webb claimed he saw someone with a machete and went to his car to get his gun, KXLY reported.
“It’d be a bad idea if they pull anything out on me ’cause I’m pro-Second Amendment,” Webb can be heard saying in the livestream, the Lewiston Tribune newspaper reported.
At one point, Webb yelled at someone to drop a rock, local NBC affiliate KGW reported, citing court documents.
“Back the f— up!” Webb can be heard repeatedly yelling. “He just attacked me. Y’all did!” he also yelled, adding: “I’m constitutionally protected!”
Hatch was holding an iced coffee in his hand when he was shot, the outlet reported.
Hatch survived but lost a kidney and half his bowels and suffered damage to a coronary artery, his brother told local NBC affiliate KHQ.
Webb was arrested and later told police he felt his life was in danger, regretted being there and getting into an argument, Portland, Oregon, NBC affiliate KGW reported, citing court documents.
At Webb’s first court appearance, Spokane Superior Court Commissioner Eugene Cruz dressed the defendant down for antagonizing people experiencing homelessness, saying, “You went to this location for your own entertainment,” the Spokesman-Review reported.
The victim’s brother, Kessler, was shattered after watching the video.
“I heard that slide hammer cocked back,” he told local Fox and MyNetworkTV affiliate KAYU. “I stopped the video right there for a second, gained my senses, and then pressed play.”
He spoke of the defendant to KHQ, saying: “You’re evil. You went out seeking your 15 minutes of fame … Now you’re getting more than your 15 minutes of fame.”
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