A 14-year-old Switzerland Point Middle School student remains locked up in the St. Johns County Jail, facing eight felony charges as an adult, after deputies say he spent two years quietly building homemade guns and explosives inside his family's home on Tivoli Drive. His 13-year-old classmate, arrested alongside him in connection with a planned armed robbery, was charged with a single conspiracy count and has since been released from custody.
The case began with a tip submitted to the state's FortifyFL app on April 27, warning that two juveniles were using Telegram to discuss homemade weapons and devices while conspiring to commit an armed robbery, according to the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office. The tip identified a specific target: an individual behind a Publix supermarket on County Road 210, as reported by The Boca Raton Tribune. The Sheriff's Office and the St. Johns County School District safety team launched a joint investigation based on that information, and detectives believe the report and subsequent intervention intercepted a larger, violent criminal incident before it could unfold.
Homemade Explosives and a Tactical Vest
Acting on the tip, SJSO's Major Crimes unit, bomb squad, EOD K9 units and the ATF conducted multiple searches of the home belonging to Julian Davis, the 14-year-old suspect, on Tivoli Drive in St. Johns. Investigators recovered three homemade firearms, ammunition, suspected explosive components, makeshift handcuffs, handwritten notes, diagrams, manifesto-style books, and a tactical vest bearing white supremacy drawings, per the sheriff's office account. Evidence seized from Davis's bedroom also included literature promoting the white supremacist Great Replacement Theory, along with tactical gear marked with Neo-Nazi slogans and symbols referencing Adolf Hitler, according to the same account relayed by Jacksonville Today.
The ATF Forensic Science Laboratory tested the suspected explosive components pulled from Davis's residence and determined the samples contained homemade black powder, ETN, aluminum, sulfur, charcoal and urea nitrate. ETN and urea nitrate are homemade secondary high explosives capable of causing serious damage. Officials say the recovered materials were produced using readily available household products and items purchased online.
A Two-Year Trail of Online Research
St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick said the two teens had spent roughly two years conducting online research, obtaining weapon blueprints, and assembling homemade explosive components before their arrest, a timeline that points to a long-developing effort rather than a sudden impulse. Detectives separately located an extensive search history on Davis's electronic devices related to manufacturing homemade firearms and explosives, along with research into high-profile criminal incidents.
Davis was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery with a firearm, two counts of making or possessing a destructive device firearm, three counts of making or possessing a destructive device explosive, throwing, projecting or discharging a destructive device explosive, and furnishing or attempting to furnish a firearm to a minor. The 13-year-old, identified as Charles Williams, was charged only with conspiracy to commit robbery with a firearm. Under Florida Statute § 790.161, manufacturing or possessing a destructive device without aggravating circumstances is a third-degree felony, but doing so with intent to cause bodily harm or property damage becomes a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison, according to the Florida Legislature.
School District Response and Notifications
School district officials say the boys' actions occurred off campus and that the juveniles made no threats toward St. Johns County schools, though both are now barred from returning to any school in the district. St. Johns County School District Superintendent Brennan Asplen credited the FortifyFL tip line with preventing injuries and said parents at Switzerland Point Middle School were notified while authorities carried out the joint, multi-day investigation, per Jacksonville Today's report. Paul Abatinozzi said there was no direct threat toward St. Johns County schools and credited the Sheriff's Office, the ATF and the State Attorney's Office for their actions, adding that the case highlights FortifyFL as a tool for students, families and the community to report potential threats.
Sheriff Hardwick said the volume of information now accessible to young people online is a serious concern, urging parents to prioritize knowing what their children consume and do online. The investigation remains active.
How FortifyFL Fits Into State Law
FortifyFL was created and funded by the Florida Legislature in 2018 as part of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, and it is jointly operated today by the Florida Department of Education, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Office of the Attorney General, according to FortifyFL. The platform was designed to let students, families and community members report suspicious activity and potential threats involving juveniles, and the St. Johns case is now being cited as an example of that system working as intended.
Because false reports have piled up statewide, the Florida Department of Education requires school districts to provide mandatory instruction to parents and guardians on the proper use of the app, per the St. Johns County School District. Knowingly submitting a false report through FortifyFL is itself a criminal offense under Florida Statute § 837.05, subject to investigation, prosecution and financial restitution, according to Sarasota County Schools. Switzerland Point Middle School, the school both suspects attended, opened in 1991 in northern St. Johns County along the St. Johns River as the fast-growing suburban district expanded.
