Idaho man who livestreamed himself shooting a homeless man gets only 3 years in jail  

Hoyt Webb, a 36-year-old Idaho man who livestreamed himself shooting a homeless man in Spokane, Washington, has been sentenced to 37 months in jail after accepting a plea deal.

Webb pleaded guilty to second-degree assault for the June 7 shooting of 47-year-old Thomas Hatch. The incident occurred near a 7-Eleven in downtown Spokane, an area under a state of emergency due to the opioid crisis.

Webb, wearing a “Trump 2024” hat and livestreaming on his “Kootenai County Press” YouTube channel, claimed he was documenting the “homeless epidemic” when he shot Hatch.

The footage showed Webb with a gun strapped to his chest, yelling at people and claiming self-defense. He later told police he believed his life was in danger, though Hatch was holding only an iced coffee at the time of the shooting.

The victim survived but sustained severe injuries, losing a kidney, half his bowels and suffering damage to a coronary artery. Hatch’s brother, Eric Kessler, expressed disappointment with the sentence, feeling it was too lenient for the harm caused.

The video of the incident, which has since been removed from Webb’s YouTube page, deeply disturbed Hatch’s family. Kessler, after watching the footage, described his heartbreak upon hearing the gun being cocked.

In his statements, he criticized Webb, calling him “evil” and accusing him of seeking “15 minutes fame” at the expense of vulnerable people.

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Webb, who claimed to be a credentialed journalist under the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA), was heavily criticized by Spokane Superior Court Commissioner Eugene Cruz, who scolded him for antagonizing the homeless for his own “entertainment.”

Webb will spend over three years in prison for his actions.