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LA Man Charged In Kansas Over 911 Hoax Waives Extradition

GLENDALE, CALIF., POLICE DEPARTMENT/ AP

A Los Angeles man suspected of making a hoax emergency call that led to the fatal police shooting of a Wichita man told a judge Wednesday he would not fight efforts to send him to Kansas to face charges.

Tyler Barriss, 25, was held without bail after waiving his right to an extradition hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court.

He stood behind a glass wall dressed in black with his hands cuffed in front of him and provided brief answers to a judge's questions. He acknowledged he was the wanted man in Kansas and voluntarily signed the waiver.

Sedgwick County District Attorney Mark Bennett said in an emailed statement Wednesday afternoon that transportation to Kansas will be arranged between the Sheriff's Department of Los Angeles and the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Department. It's expected to happen within the next two or three weeks.

Police have said Andrew Finch, 28, was shot after a prankster called 911 last week with a fake story about a shooting and kidnapping at Finch's Wichita home.

A fugitive warrant filed in court said Barriss was charged with making a false alarm, which covers calling police or a fire department and knowingly giving false information. It's a low-level felony in Kansas that carries a maximum of 34 months in prison, though other charges could be filed after Wichita prosecutors review the results of a police investigation.

A more serious potential state charge would be second-degree murder for unintentionally causing a death by reckless actions, said Elizabeth Cateforis, a law professor at the University of Kansas. That can carry a sentence of up to about 20 years.

Another option may be an involuntary manslaughter charge in which a death is caused by a person acting recklessly or in the commission of another felony. That carries a maximum sentence of a little over 10 years.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Deborah Brazil said Kansas authorities have to pick up Barriss by Feb. 2.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.