Florida Criminal Attorney Blog
A 27-year-old Tampa mother was arrested Wednesday night after she allegedly sent a text message to a local news reporter threatening to blow up a child care center.
The reporter contacted law enforcement officials after receiving the text.
Deputies searched the premises of the child care facility, but did not find anything out of the ordinary.
The woman was arrested and charged with threatening to discharge a destructive device around 8:40 p.m. Wednesday night.
Officials claim she admitted to sending the text and showed police her cellphone.
She was taken to jail and held on a $7,500 bond.
Due to general concerns regarding terrorism over the past few years, security has been heightened and bomb threats are viewed more seriously than ever. While most bomb threats do not actually involve a bomb, the threat itself is a criminal offense that is punished quite severely under Florida law. Many people are surprised to find that threatening to discharge a destructive device in the state of Florida is a felony, punishable by stiff fines and lengthy prison time.
If you have been arrested or charged with making a bomb threat, in order to best protect your rights, you must contact a criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible. Making a false bomb threat in Florida is considered illegal no matter how it is carried out, whether by mail, telephone, text message, e-mail, a written note or even through a social media post, such as Twitter or Facebook. Additionally, law enforcement officers and prosecutors tend to have little sympathy for those that make false bomb threats, even if they were simply joking. Despite the facts surrounding your arrest, the Florida Criminal Defense Attorneys at Whittel & Melton may be able to negotiate or litigate a positive outcome for your case. Our number one goal is to get your charge reduced to a lesser offense, or dismissed entirely so that a conviction does not leave a mark on your criminal record.
If you or someone you love has been accused of making a bomb threat in Tampa or throughout the state of Florida, contact the Florida Criminal Defense Lawyers at Whittel & Melton online or call our Hillsborough County office at 813-221-3200 or dial us statewide and toll-free at 1-866-608-5LAW (5529).