Man accused of Foster City swatting attempt sentenced to jail

Swatting is when someone calls police with the report of a false crime to create a hardship for someone else. On Nov. 16, Gounaropoulos is believed to have called 911 and told the operator his grandmother saw several masked men armed with guns forcibly entering the former judicial officer’s home. He is said to have refused to identify himself or say where he was, and police confirmed with the victim’s husband nothing happened, according to prosecutors.

The phone number used to make the 911 call was connected to Gounaropoulos, who had previously been a party in court hearings over which the victim presided. He allegedly told police who conducted a traffic stop on him that he was “ambushed” by the officer’s rulings, according to prosecutors.

Because his client has been in an intensive outpatient treatment program since his arrest, Gounaropoulos’ defense attorney Jeff Jackson said he argued for his client to be able to complete his sentence in a treatment program to be able to build on his progress.

“Alex understands that he made some mistakes last fall that led to his arrest, but he spent the last 5 1/2 months doing intensive outpatient therapy to turn his life around,” he said.

District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe commended Judge Stephanie Garratt for an excellent sentence Thursday.

“The crime of swatting is potentially very dangerous,” he said. “Because the danger is at such a high level, it’s important that the criminal justice system respond firmly.”