Charges Dropped Against Plainfield YouTube Celebrity After Reported 'Swatting' Incident

Marijuana possession charges have been dropped against a Plainfield man and his girlfriend after they were victims of an alleged “swatting” incident in which someone phoned in a phony report to Plainfield police last month.

Alexander Wachs and Kelly Popp, both 24, were arrested Aug. 17 after police responded to their Thornwood Boulevard home for a report of an armed and suicidal subject. The report turned out to be bogus, but police said they found marijuana in plain sight inside the home.

It turned out the pair were the victims of swatting, a prank typically targeting celebrities in which a fake emergency is reported to police.

Wachs has gained Internet fame on YouTube as Whiteboy7thst. His channel, which has nearly 2.5 million subscribers, produces daily videos on gaming and video game reviews. Popp also has a YouTube channel with more than 400,000 subscribers.

Sgt. Mike Fisher said police received a report that a subject in the home was possibly suicidal and threatening to kill his girlfriend. After police surrounded the home, they contacted Wachs and Popp via telephone, and the pair came out of the house willingly, police said.

Although it became clear that the purported emergency was fake, Fisher said police could smell marijuana in the home. Cannabis was also in plain sight, he said. Both Wach and Popp were charged with possession of 30-500 grams of cannabis.

On Thursday, Will County State’s Attorney’s Office spokesman Chuck Pelkie said the charges against Wachs and Popp were dropped after due to the “unique type of situation” after the cases was reviewed by senior attorneys. “There’s a strong possibility of a motion to suppress,” Pelkie said, adding it was unclear whether the evidence would have survived the motion.

Fisher said police are investigating where the bogus report came from and have “significant leads” in the case. He said the Aug. 17 incident is not the only case of swatting under investigation in Plainfield.

Pelkie said the state’s attorney’s High-Tech Crimes Unit is also looking into reports of swatting.

“It’s something we’ve very aware of,” he said, adding that the unit “is on the vanguard of investigating this.”