Teen sentenced after Tennessee man dies in Twitter handle harassment scheme

Sumner County, Tennessee - A 60-year-old Tennessee man died after two teenagers called the police on him – because they wanted his Twitter handle.

Police rushed to Mark Herring's home in Sumner County after two teenagers reported a fake murder (stock image).
Police rushed to Mark Herring's home in Sumner County after two teenagers reported a fake murder (stock image).  © 123rf/z1b

The tragic incident happened in April 2020 after two teenagers called 911 to report a fake murder at Mark Herring's home.

Police were alarmed and immediately swarmed the property with firearms drawn.

When Herring came outside to see what was going on, he was so shocked that he had a heart attack and passed away.

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"I believe he was scared to death," his daughter Corinna Herring Fitch told NBC News. "I believe from the adrenaline and the guns in his face ... a heart attack happened."

On Wednesday, one of the perpetrators, Shane Sonderman, was sentenced to five years in prison.

He was still a minor at the time of Herring's death, but since he turned 18 shortly after, he has been charged as an adult with wire fraud, interstate communication of threats, false information and hoaxes, and conspiracy.

The other person involved, a minor from the United Kingdom, was not extradited to the USA for charges.

Herring's family is left absolutely devastated. Why did those two teenagers call 911 without a reason?

The boys wanted Herring's Twitter handle

This account was the reason for Herring's tragic death.
This account was the reason for Herring's tragic death.  © Twitter/Screenshot/Tennessee

According to NBC News, everything happened because of Herring's Twitter handle @Tennessee that the boys wanted him to give up.

They were planning on selling it in an online forum.

But since Herring denied their request, they started to plot their "revenge."

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Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one they did this to.

Sonderman harassed at least four other users across the country in order for them to give up their handles. He would "bombard the owner with repeated phone calls and text messages," leak their addresses, fake call the police on them, and send food deliveries to their homes.

Herring's family is currently speaking out as they call for tougher laws to deal with these types of incidents.

"In court, there were six families affected, and as a total for all of the families, we only got a 60-month sentence," his daughter, Corinna Herring Fitch, said.

"Some of the families had been harassed for four years," Herring's son-in-law, Greg Hooge, said. "That was four years something could have been done, but there are no laws against harassment over the internet with the way they were doing it."

"If it would have been stopped four years ago, this would have never happened," he concluded.

Cover photo: collage: 123rf/z1b & Twitter/Screenshot/Tennessee

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