A Brooksville man is behind bars after a fabricated emergency call claiming a killing on a boat triggered a heavily armed response at Bradenton's Twin Dolphin Marina on May 29. The bogus report, which said someone aboard a vessel had killed at least one woman and planned to die by suicide, drew patrol officers, a drone unit, the SWAT team and hostage negotiators to the riverfront. Investigators later traced the call to an online chat that they say was linked to a suspect's electronic devices.
In a post on X, the Bradenton Police Department said detectives arrested 33-year-old Ronald Sellars of Brooksville and charged him in connection with the scare, including unlawful use of a two-way communications device and making a false report involving firearms. According to the department, digital evidence tied Sellars' devices to the chat messages, and witnesses told investigators he repeatedly tried to contact them on May 28 and May 29. The post also notes that the report first reached the 988 suicide & crisis lifeline before police were dispatched to Twin Dolphin Marina.
Arrest details and custody
Bradenton police say detectives made the arrest with help from the Hernando County Sheriff's Office. The sheriff's online arrest log lists a July booking for Ronald Preston Sellars under an unlawful-use charge, according to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office arrest pages. Those records show an entry for Sellars that uses the offense code for unlawful use of a two-way communications device. He remains in county custody at the Hernando County Detention Center, per the sheriff's detention pages.
What swatting is and why it matters
Swatting is the practice of making a fake emergency report to provoke a large, urgent law-enforcement response, and officials warn it can be deadly while also draining limited public-safety resources. The FBI has issued alerts about people using spoofed calls and online chats to target victims with swatting, noting the serious risks the tactic poses to both civilians and responding officers, and the Department of Homeland Security has released guidance on the broader threat these hoaxes create for communities. Local officials say the Twin Dolphin Marina incident shows how a single false chat message can pull multiple agencies into a high-risk situation in a matter of minutes.
What comes next
Investigators say the case is still active and prosecutors will determine whether to file additional charges as they review the evidence. Filing a false report about firearms and unlawfully using telecommunications to trigger an emergency response are felonies that can carry significant penalties if a defendant is convicted, and authorities say digital forensics remains a key part of their work. Anyone with information has been asked to contact Bradenton Police Department detectives, and the department has not yet released more details about motive or potential victims.
