By Associated Press
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A judge has again delayed the trial of a online gamer allegedly involved in a deadly hoax to give the parties time to finalize documents for an alternative to prosecution that could spare him from a criminal record.
Trial for 20-year-old Shane Gaskill of Wichita had been scheduled to begin Tuesday, but his attorney asked the court for the continuance to finalize paperwork for pre-trial diversion that should be completed within days.
U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren set a new June 25 trial.
Gaskill is charged with conspiracy, obstruction of justice, wire fraud, and making false statement during an investigation.
Prosecutors say he was playing an online game when a dispute sparked the false call that resulted in police shooting a man who lived at Gaskill’s former Wichita home.