Twin YouTubers Alex and Alan Stokes have pleaded guilty to multiple misdemeanor charges from a robbery prank YouTube video filmed in 2019. The now deleted video titled “BANK ROBBER PRANK! (gone wrong)” featured the Stokes twins getting into an Uber after pretending to rob a bank. The twins wore all black clothing and ski masks and carried duffle bags filled with cash in an attempt to look like real-life robbers. The prank took a turn for the worst – however – when the police pulled the driver – who was unaware of the prank – and the twins over and held them at gunpoint. The twins also conducted the same prank at the University of California – which led to multiple emergency phone calls to the police.
The YouTubers were initially charged in August 2020 with a felony count of false imprisonment affected by violence, menace, fraud, or deceit and a misdemeanor count of reporting false emergencies. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office revealed in their press release that the Stokes Twins initially faced 5 years in prison but that their charges were reduced to false imprisonment and false emergencies after they entered a guilty plea. The two will also receive 160 hours of community service, one year of formal probation, an order to stay away from the University of California, and a warning to refrain from making videos that depict “criminal behavior”.
Todd Spitzer from the Orange County District Attorney released a statement about the incident:
“These crimes could have easily resulted in someone being seriously hurt or killed. An active bank robbery is not a casual police response and these police officers were literally risking their lives to help people they believed were in danger. It is irresponsible and reckless that these two individuals cared more about increasing their number of followers on the internet than the safety of those police officers or the safety of the innocent Uber driver who was ordered out of his car at gunpoint”.
As of today, Alex and Alan Stokes have not released statements addressing their charges.