Fake robberies on YouTube lead twins to court
Siblings Alan and Alex Stokes, 23, were known for their pranks and hidden camera clips.
Archives
Two twin brothers from California, who became famous for their YouTube pranks, were convicted in court in the state for filming fake robberies that required the intervention of two policemen who aimed their weapon at a taxi driver who was at the scene and was not aware of the plot.
The two brothers Alan and Alex Stokes (23 years old) were famous for their pranks and hidden camera clips, which they posted on their YouTube channels (6.6 million subscribers) and TikTok (30 million followers).
In October 2019, the twins wore black clothes with a ski mask and carried a sack full of banknotes, before photographing themselves in a clip in which they claimed they had robbed a bank in their hometown of Irvine, south of Los Angeles.
They contacted a taxi driver through the Uber service, to take them during their alleged escape, but he refused to do so after seeing them. However, one of the passers-by who witnessed the incident informed the police of what was happening, after he believed that he was facing a kidnapping attempt carried out by two professional thieves in bank robbing.
Upon their arrival at the scene, the policemen aimed their weapon at the taxi driver to get him out of his vehicle, before discovering that it was just a prank.
The twin brothers repeated the prank hours later.
Several charges were brought against Alan and Alex Stokes, carrying a sentence of five years in prison, but the court agreed to reduce the seriousness of the charges against them if they admit their guilt, which is what actually happened.
The two brothers were sentenced to carry out 160 hours of public benefit work, placed on probation for a year, and prevented from filming any videos that simulate criminal behavior.
Follow our latest local and sports news, and the latest political and economic developments via Google news