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Man who tried to forcibly steal domain name gets 20 years

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June 14th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A Cedar Rapids man has been imprisoned for forcibly trying to steal an internet domain name from another man. Federal court records say 43-year-old Sherman Hopkins Jr. was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids to 20 years in prison. He’d made a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to one count of interference and attempted interference with commerce by threats and violence. It’s unclear why Hopkins wanted the domain name.

The records say Hopkins acknowledged breaking into the man’s home on June 21 last year, brandishing a stolen handgun and demanding that the man get on his computer and move the domain name of doitforstate.com from one account to another. The man reported that Hopkins hit him with the gun and used a stun gun as well. The man gained control of the handgun during a struggle in which he was shot in a leg. He then shot Hopkins several times.