A former Broward County Public Schools teacher’s assistant was arrested last week for making bomb threats to schools in the county.
In a statement, the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) said that Sunrise police arrested Jayson Arlon Richardson on Dec. 21 following a lengthy investigation that began mid-November.
The investigation revealed that on Nov. 18, the BSO Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) received five bomb threats through the FortfiyFL application against schools in Deerfield Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Plantation.
Through investigative means, Richardson was developed as a suspect, BSO said. It was learned that the threats came from a public library computer in Delray Beach, where Richardson was using a computer at the time the threats were made.
On Dec. 13, three additional shooting threats against the schools were received by BSO’s RTCC through the FortifyFL app. Investigation revealed that the threats came from the Davie/Cooper City Branch Library in Broward County, and Richardson was again developed as a suspect, BSO said.
According to detectives, following his arrest, Richardson confessed to the crimes.
Detectives said that Richardson previously worked as a teacher’s assistant for BCPS. According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Richardson worked at North Fork Elementary School in Fort Lauderdale before he was terminated in November 2022. He was then hired at Deerfield Beach Elementary about the second week of November 2023, then fired the same day because he was “accidentally hired” after his termination from North Fork.
He faces five counts of making false bomb threats and three counts of making written threats to kill.
On Thursday, Richardson faced a judge where his bond was set to $1.6 million. He remained in jail after his court hearing.
“He advised me that as a result of Mr. Richardson’s acts, the bomb squad had to be called out to Deerfield Elementary to do sweeps,” said a prosecutor at Thursday’s court hearing.
“Resources were used to come out and check the other schools. At a minimum, this has caused a significant disruption to these schools and the lives of these young children.”
BSO is reminding the community that these types of threats are taken seriously, investigated fully, and could result in criminal charges.
Additionally, they urged the community to report any suspicious activity by contacting the Broward Sheriff’s Office non-emergency number at 954-764-HELP (4357) or submitting a tip via the SaferWatch app. In emergencies, always call 911.
