A former Broward County Public Schools employee has found himself in handcuffs and behind bars after law enforcement tracked down the source of several bomb and death threats to local schools. The suspect, 42-year-old Jayson Arlon Richardson, a former teacher's assistant, allegedly issued multiple menacing messages targeting schools in the Broward County area.
According to Local 10 News, Richardson used the FortifyFL crime tip app on November 18 to send "five consecutive bomb threats" to schools including Deerfield Beach Elementary School and Plantation Middle School, raising alerts and causing disruptions. Unable to resist a draw toward destruction, Richardson supposedly also sent a link to a YouTube Short video of a man shooting a tree down with an AK-47-style rifle as part of his threats on December 13, statements which were pinpointed to a computer at the Broward County Main Library.
In response to the spree of threats issued, the former school employee received a slew of charges. As per the Broward County jail records obtained by Local 10 News, Richardson is being held at BSO’s Paul Rein Detention Facility under a $1.6 million bond. His charge sheet includes five counts of making a false bomb threat and three counts of written threats to kill or injure.
After being rehired and then promptly fired again by Broward County Public Schools upon the realization of his prior firing, Richardson's behavior continued to spiral in a concerning direction. The Broward Sheriff's Office collaborated with Fort Lauderdale and Plantation police departments for weeks, culminating in Richardson's capture by BSO's V.I.P.E.R. (Violence Intervention Proactive Enforcement Response) Unit and Sunrise Police officers during a traffic stop, as detailed by Boca Post.
Richardson's web of threats was untangled through the diligent efforts of the BSO's Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) and the Threat Management Unit, as they followed the digital breadcrumbs he left behind at various public library computers in the area. After his arrest, the suspect admitted to his crimes, taking responsibility for the upheaval caused in the local school community.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office emphasized the gravity of such threats, urging the community to report any suspicious activity to authorities immediately. BSO's message is clear: threats against schools are taken seriously and will result in criminal charges.
