- Alan and Alex Stokes have pleaded guilty to misdemeanour false imprisonment and for reporting false emergencies in connection with two fake bank robberies.
- In August it was reported that while filming a prank, the pair pretended they robbed a bank before ordering an Uber. The Uber driver refused to pick them up, but was later held at gunpoint by police.
- The twins have been sentenced to one year of formal probation, 160 hours of community service and ordered to pay restitution.
Alan and Alex Stokes, better known as the Stoke Twins, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to misdemeanour false imprisonment and for reporting false emergencies in connection with two fake bank robberies, a press release shared by the Orange County District Attorney's Office said, per E! News.
The YouTube stars who often share videos of themselves pranking their friends among other social media challenges were charged in August last year after having their videographer film them while they pretended to rob a bank before ordering an Uber. CNN reports, the Uber driver refused to pick them up, but a witness believed the incident to be true and assumed the brothers were attempting a carjacking.
When police arrived on the scene, they ordered the driver out at gunpoint. He was later released when police found out he was not involved, the 23-year-old twins were let go on a warning, only, police later received emergency calls after they repeated the prank at the University of California's campus in Irvine.
At the time, lawyers for the twins said they were not guilty on charges of false imprisonment and swatting. Per court documents filed on Wednesday, the two were each sentenced to one year of formal probation, 160 hours of community service and ordered to pay restitution. The judge also ordered they not make any additional videos that mimic purported criminal activity and stay away from the University of California.
This isn't the first time a YouTube prank has gone horribly wrong. In February, Channel24 reported YouTuber Timothy Wilks was shot dead after staging a robbery prank.