Supposed GTA imitator gets 75 to life for murder

The news is saying that someone took their video game fantasies into the real world, and is now paying for it with a hefty prison sentence. While we don’t necessarily agree with that connection, SF Gate’s article about it does bear some mention. The founder of the Nut Cases street gang was recently sentenced to a minimum of 75 years in prison for killing an acquaintance of his.

Gregory Colbert, 27, was convicted in Alameda County Superior Court in December for the June 7, 2004 killing of 20-year-old Glen Phaso. Deputy District Attorney Michael Nieto said Colbert, already a convicted felon, killed Phaso either because he raped Colbert’s good friend the day before the murder, or because Phaso refused to commit a murder that Colbert ordered.

According to the rest of the SF Gate report, the Nut Cases were a gang who were known for getting high while playing Rockstar’s supposed “murder simulator” and then resorted to acting out what they played in the game. While the coverage manages to be fair with most of it, we certainly don’t agree with how games are portrayed here.

For one thing, there seems to be a history of violence within the family. The report also notes that his half-brother, Demarcus Ralls, was also found guilty of a set of murders of his own. That would seem to indicate more of a predilection towards violence than a love of acting out game violence.

Still, to paraphrase the old adage, there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophies.

The news is saying that someone took their video game fantasies into the real world, and is now paying for it with a hefty prison sentence. While we don’t necessarily agree with that connection, SF Gate’s article about it does bear some mention. The founder of the Nut Cases street gang was recently sentenced to a minimum of 75 years in prison for killing an acquaintance of his.

Gregory Colbert, 27, was convicted in Alameda County Superior Court in December for the June 7, 2004 killing of 20-year-old Glen Phaso. Deputy District Attorney Michael Nieto said Colbert, already a convicted felon, killed Phaso either because he raped Colbert’s good friend the day before the murder, or because Phaso refused to commit a murder that Colbert ordered.

According to the rest of the SF Gate report, the Nut Cases were a gang who were known for getting high while playing Rockstar’s supposed “murder simulator” and then resorted to acting out what they played in the game. While the coverage manages to be fair with most of it, we certainly don’t agree with how games are portrayed here.

For one thing, there seems to be a history of violence within the family. The report also notes that his half-brother, Demarcus Ralls, was also found guilty of a set of murders of his own. That would seem to indicate more of a predilection towards violence than a love of acting out game violence.

Still, to paraphrase the old adage, there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophies.