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Deputies: Man made bomb threat to avoid work

Posted at 3:26 PM, Apr 25, 2020
and last updated 2020-04-25 17:26:55-04

WELLINGTON, Fla. (AP) — A Florida construction worker called in a bomb threat to a water treatment facility to get a day off work, authorities said.

Richard Hamilton, 36, was arrested Thursday and charged with making a bomb threat, the Palm Beach Postreported.

More than 20 people evacuated Wellington’s water treatment plant shortly after the threatening 911 call around 7 a.m. Thursday, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. Hamilton had been working with a construction crew at the facility and later told deputies that he made the threat because he was having a bad day and didn’t want to work.

The sheriff’s bomb squad, a bomb dog and drones searched Hamilton’s vehicle and the surrounding area and found no evidence of a bomb, the sheriff’s office said. Wellington’s water service was not affected, village officials said.

Hamilton was being held on $10,000 bond. Jail records didn’t list an attorney.