POLK COUNTY, Fla. – Two teenagers have been arrested and charged after making a false bomb threat to Ridge Community High School in Haines City.
The incident occurred on Monday, March 10th, around 8:40 a.m. when the school’s principal received three phone calls from an unknown male. The caller initially remained silent, then stated “I have a bomb” in the second call, and finally claimed “It was a joke” in the third call.
The School Resource Deputy at Ridge Community High School investigated the incident and traced the phone number to 18-year-old Jaimelias Rivera-Rodriguez. Rivera-Rodriguez admitted to making the calls, stating that his friend, 18-year-old Ethan Bork, had given him the principal’s number and told him to make the threat.
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Bork, a student at Ridge Community High School, was also questioned. He claimed he did not know why he gave Rivera-Rodriguez the principal’s number or instructed him to make the bomb threat.
Both teenagers were arrested and transported to the Polk County Jail. They face charges of:
- False Report of a Bomb (felony)
- Conspiracy to Commit Offense with Destructive Device (felony)
- Use of 2-Way Communication Device to Commit Felony (felony)
- Make Harassing Phone Call (misdemeanor)
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“Regardless that there was no bomb, these type of calls are never just a joke,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. “They are not harmless pranks. They are stupid actions that have consequences; they are crimes, and we will find the people who make calls like this and put them in jail, just like we did with these two.”
Rivera-Rodriguez is a former student of Ridge Community High School.
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