Man Sentenced To 20-Years In Prison For Criminally Breaking Into A Webmaster's Apartment, Beating Him And Stealing His Website At Gunpoint

June 18. 2018

Sherman Hopkins Jr

43-year-old Sherman Hopkins Jr of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, broke into the apartment of 26-year-old website owner, Ethan Deyo, at gunpoint. Hopkins pistol whipped Deyo and demanded he transfer his domain name DoItForState.com to him online. Deyo complied. Hopkins beat Deyo with a gun and targeted him with a laser. During the torture, Deyo was able to overpower intruder Hopkins and shoot him several times. Deyo called the police and they arrested Hopkins.

Hopkins was arrested, indicted and convicted of, "Kidnapping and use of a firearm during a violent crime." Hopkins pled guilty and was sentenced to 20-years in prison. I don't know why some people act so crazy over the internet and exhibit an irrational and alarming desire to control other people's websites and what they write online. It is mentally ill. Everyone is entitled to own property, such as domains/websites, and lawfully express their opinions on said sites. To spend 20-years in prison over trying to steal and control someone else's site is not smart. 

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Internet 'domain jacker' jailed for 20 years over armed website heist

17 June 2018 • 9:09pm - A man has been jailed for 20 years over the first known instance of armed "domain hijacking" in which he sought to gain control of a website at gunpoint. Sherman Hopkins Jr, 43, broke into the apartment of an internet entrepreneur in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, wearing pantyhose on his head, dark sunglasses, and brandishing a stolen handgun. He demanded that Ethan Deyo, 26, get on his computer and transfer ownership of the internet domain name DoItForState.com from one account to another.

After being pistol-whipped and repeatedly targeted with a Taser, Deyo gained control of the handgun during which he was shot in the leg. He then shot Hopkins several times in the chest and called police. Hopkins, who survived the incident in on June 21 last year, pleaded guilty to one count of "interference and attempted interference with commerce by threats and violence".

The sentence was the result of a plea deal with prosecutors as he had previously been charged with more serious offences including kidnapping and use of a firearm during a violent crime. DoItForState.com had already been inactive for a month before the attempted "domain jacking". The website had emerged from the University of Iowa as a forum for college students to post images of parties and wild antics... 

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