YouTubers Alan and Alex Stokes have been charged with felonies and are facing prison time after a 2019 prank ended with an Uber driver being held at gunpoint by police.
Last October, the 23-year-old twins staged a prank where they posed as bank robbers and attempted to use an Uber as their getaway vehicle. In the video, which has now been removed from their channel, the duo could be seen wearing black ski masks and carrying stuffed duffle bags before demanding the driver take them to another location.
The driver, who was unaware of the prank, refused to transport them. This led a bystander, who believed the creators had just robbed a bank and were now attempting to carjack the Uber, to quickly call the police.
Upon arrival, authorities ordered the driver out of the car at gunpoint before releasing him when they realized he was not involved. At the time, the twins were also released and issued a stern warning from police.
“Police issued a warning to the Stokes brothers about the dangerous of their conduct and let them go,” (sic) the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said in a press release.
But hours later, Alan and Alex reportedly attempted to recreate the prank on the campus of the University of California, Irvine, leading to additional emergency calls.
“These were not pranks. These are crimes that could have resulted in someone getting seriously injured or even killed. Law enforcement officers are sworn to protect the public and when someone calls 911 to report an active bank robbery they are going to respond to protect lives. Instead, what they found was some kind of twisted attempt to gain more popularity on the internet by unnecessarily putting members of the public and police officers in danger,” Orange County DA Todd Spitzer said in a statement.
Alex and Alan are now facing one count of felony each of “false imprisonment effected by violence, menace, fraud, or deceit” and one misdemeanor count of “falsely reporting an emergency.”
If convicted on all counts, the brothers could face a maximum sentence of four years in state prison.
