Man who attempted to socially engineer sheriff’s department sentenced under Alabama’s Digital Crime Act

From a press release of March 18:

Attorney General Luther Strange announced the conviction of a Georgia man for a felony related to attempts to access confidential information systems maintained by the State of Alabama.  On Monday, Thomas Jack Hixon, 20, of Chickamauga, Georgia pleaded guilty in Calhoun County Circuit Court to Attempted Computer Tampering, which is a class C felony.  This is the first case prosecuted by this Office under the new “Alabama Digital Crime Act” which was passed by the Legislature in 2012.

Hixon was sentenced to five years and a $1,000 fine, plus court costs and a $50 fee to the Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Commission.  He has applied for probation which will be determined at a later hearing.

Attorney General Strange’s Special Prosecutions Division presented evidence to a Calhoun County grand jury, resulting in Hixon’s indictment in 2013.  The conviction arises from a call Hixon made to the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office in which he claimed to be an employee of the Weaver Police Department.  Using spoofing software, Hixon further concealed his identity by manipulating the caller ID to show him as calling from the Weaver Police Department. Hixon attempted to obtain a user name and password for access to computerized confidential law enforcement records contained in the National Crime Information Center database, or “NCIC.”

The state never disclosed whether Hixon actually obtained the login information and/or whether he ever actually accessed the database.  If anyone has more information on that, please use the Comments section to provide additional details.