The 17-year-old Gainesville student, charged with bomb threats, faces 15 years in prison

GAINESVILLE, Florida. – A 17-year-old student at a Gainesville high school faces up to 15 years in prison after being accused of making bomb threats, according to the Alachua County sheriff.

Sheriff Clovis Watson Jr. announced Thursday that the student will be prosecuted as an adult after allegedly issuing bomb threats against Buchholz High School.

The teen, arrested two weeks ago, was charged with possession of cocaine, making false bomb threats, and using a two-way communication device to commit a crime.

“This is not a game. These are crimes and they will be treated as such,” Clovis wrote in a Facebook post. “In addition, the cost of reimbursement is required for the time, energy, money and assets used to investigate these incidents became.”

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Watson’s announcement comes as schools in the area received a spate of threats that resulted in bans at five schools.

MORE | Students are expelled and prosecuted after “threats, evacuations, vandalism” hit schools in Alachua

An Alachua County public school spokesman confirmed Thursday that, due to various types of threats, three evacuations at Buchholz High School, four at Newberry High School, one at Oak View Middle School, two at Gainesville High School and one at Eastside High School took place last week.

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Clovis said he met with representatives from the Gainesville Police Department, the University of Florida Police Department, the Santa Fe College Police Department, the High Springs Police Department, the Alachua Police Department, the Alachua County Education Department and the district attorney on Thursday, to talk about “terrorism,” shootings and other violent crimes that have hit our county hard recently and disrupted our students’ education. “

“We cannot and will not allow these criminals to hold our community hostage,” Clovis wrote in a message on Facebook.

The sheriff said he expected further arrests related to bomb threats at Newberry High School and Oak View Middle School soon.

“Students and parents should understand that decisions to engage in criminal activity, as illustrated in these recent cases, can affect and potentially ruin your life. For those who choose to pursue criminal and terrorist activity, I will devote the time, resources and energy necessary to successfully solve these types of crimes and prosecute them to the fullest extent possible, ”said Clovis. “To the public and to the leaders involved in our collective efforts to end the violence, I thank you for your commitment to join me in protecting and safeguarding our community.”

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Superintendent Dr. Carlee Simon also warned that violent legal remedies would be used for such behavior, saying that disciplinary action, including expulsion, has already been taken against students who were involved.

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