RICHMOND COUNTY, Ga. (WJBF) – The Richmond County man arrested after being accused of a bomb threat targeting the Augusta office of the Social Security Administration has been indicted.
According to the U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of Georgia’s office, Keyon Tishaye Dickens, 38, of Augusta, has been indicted for Using a Telephone to Make a Threat to Injure a Person or Damage a Building by Explosives, and two counts of False Information and Bomb Hoax.
According to the indictment, Dickens allegedly called the Social Security Administration office on October 10th and threatened to use an explosive device to harm the building and workers, and later, at the Social Security office, Dickens displayed a note with the handwritten message saying, “I have a bomb,” to a security officer who alerted the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.
According to authorities, the Social Security building was locked down and evacuated, no bomb was found, and Richmond County Sheriff’s Office deputies took Dickens into custody.
According to U.S. Attorney Jill E. Steinberg, the phone charge carries a statutory penalty upon conviction of up to 10 years in prison, and each of the hoax charges carry a statutory penalty of up to five years in prison, along with substantial financial penalties and a period of supervised release upon completion of any prison term.
Authorities say Dickens is currently being held in the Jefferson County Detention Center.
