Flint, MI– A suspect has been arrested and is facing charges for calling in a bomb threat to the Genesee County Jail during an expungement fair on June 2.
During a press conference on June 15, Prosecutor David Leyton said the suspect knew about the “dignitaries” attending the event, including Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Attorney General Dana Nessel, and others. But his bomb threat had to do more with himself than any of them.
Leyton said 25-year-old Ceasar Brown had a felony warrant out for his arrest for breaking and entering. He said Brown’s family was pressuring him to turn himself in, but that he was “nervous,” and “didn’t want to go to jail.”
So instead, Leyton said Brown called in a bomb threat believing that it would shut down the jail, so he would not have to go.
Sheriff Chris Swanson said the call came in at 2:26 p.m., and warned that there would be a bomb threat at 4 p.m.
“The last line of the call is the most stunning: ‘be prepared,’” Swanson said. “On a day where we are celebrating the return of people’s lives, this disruption came in.”
Swanson said the Sheriff’s Department was immediately assisted by the Michigan State Police, and deployed “explosive dogs,” but there was no bomb. Swanson said the local FBI got involved in the investigation, and with the prosecutor, several search warrants were written.
On June 10, Brown turned himself in.
According to Brown’s court records, the warrant for the breaking and entering charge was issued on April 6. Brown had not yet gone to court for these charges, but if he was found guilty, Leyton said he would have faced about 10 years. His arraignment date was set for June 12.
The bomb threat has added another potential 40 years to his sentence.
Leyton said Brown is facing two more felony charges related to threat: false report or threat of terrorism, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and using a computer to commit a crime, which could be another 20 years.
Brown’s bond has been set at $100,000.