YouTube Prankster Jailed For Shooting Boyfriend Dead
A US woman has been sentenced to six months' imprisonment for shooting dead her boyfriend in a botched stunt they hoped would go viral on YouTube.
Monalisa Perez, now 20, was asked by Pedro Ruiz, 22, to fire a gun from a foot (30cm) away, believing a thick book he held in front of his chest would shield him.
The bullet pierced the 1.5in book, fatally wounding Ruiz last June.
Perez, a mother of two, later pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter.
What are Perez's sentencing terms?
Minnesota Judge Jeffrey Remick set out the terms agreed under plea bargaining on Wednesday. Perez will:
- Serve a 180-day jail term. This will be an alternating 10 days in jail and 10 days out for the first six months, amounting to 90 days behind bars. The remaining 90 days can be served in home confinement. The jail time can be served in South Dakota, where she now lives
- Serve 10 years of supervised probation
- Be banned for life from owning firearms
- Make no financial gain from the case
The sentencing is below state guidelines but Norman County Attorney James Brue said "the reality [is] that this foolish stunt was dreamed up, planned and executed by Pedro Ruiz, and the defendant wrongfully and tragically relied on his assurances that the stunt was safe".
What did the couple want to achieve?
Perez and Ruiz had been documenting their everyday lives in Halstad, Minnesota, by posting videos of their pranks to a YouTube channel in a quest for internet fame.
They had filmed some minor pranks, which seemed relatively harmless.
And there was little indication of how far they were prepared to go in order to become online celebrities until the fatal stunt on 26 June 2017.
On that day Perez fired a powerful Desert Eagle handgun from close range, as Ruiz held an encyclopaedia in front of his chest.
He had experimented previously and thought the thick book would protect him, but the couple's three-year-old child and nearly 30 onlookers watched as she fired a fatal bullet.
Perez called 911 to report she had accidentally shot her boyfriend.
Ruiz was pronounced dead at the scene at their home.
Perez was pregnant with their second child at the time of the shooting.
The Power Of AI: Microsoft's Cloud Sales Reach New Heights
In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, Microsoft has emerged as a frontrunner, leveraging the transformative powe... Read more
Uncovering The Tactics: How Hackers Exploit Developing Countries In Ransomware Testing
In recent years, there has been a concerning rise in hackers using developing countries as testing grounds for ransomwar... Read more
From Silicon Valley To Down Under: Musk's Defense Of Public Interest In The Digital Era
In recent headlines, tech titan Elon Musk has once again captured global attention, this time for his intervention in an... Read more
The Global Semiconductor Landscape: Navigating Through Market Shifts Post Samsung's Earnings Triumph
In the first quarter of 2024, Samsung Electronics announced a staggering 931% surge in operating profits, reaching 6.6 t... Read more
The Balancing Act: Google's Paywalled AI And The Quest For Digital Equity
In an era where artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer the stuff of science fiction but a daily utility, Google's lat... Read more
The Meteoric Rise Of Anthropic: Valuation And The Future Of AI
In an era where artificial intelligence (AI) is not just a buzzword but a cornerstone of technological advancement, Amaz... Read more