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Robert Charles Jeffers
One man got a trip to the Putnam County Jail after he threatened to bomb Rodman Dam and everyone in the area late Tuesday.
The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office charged Robert Charles Jeffers, 36, with felonies for threatening to discharge a destructive device, “possessing a hoax weapon of mass destruction” and falsely reporting a bomb, reports state. Sheriff’s office reports state Jeffers resides in Ocala but his address in the county jail log is listed as “homeless.”
Jeffers was reportedly standing on the north side of the Rodman Dam Boat Ramp spillway, around 9 p.m. Tuesday evening, telling people near the dam he had a bomb in his backpack and was going to blow up the dam and everyone around the dam if they did not leave.
When a sheriff’s office sergeant arrived on scene, Jeffers was holding something taped to his right hand and had what appeared to be wires coming out of his backpack, according to the agency’s incident report. The suspect allegedly told the responding sergeant that if he “let go of what was in his hand, we are all going to die.”
The sergeant said he attempted to engage Jeffers in conversation but the suspect refused to respond to “any logical conversation."
Jeffers made repeated comments that he wanted to cooperate and deactivate the bomb but he could not do that, the law enforcement agency stated.
“Robert stated to law enforcement at one point that he possessed ‘30lbs of C4’ and later stated the bomb was made of 2g of plutonium,’” according to the report.
Authorities reported evacuating Rodman Dam, formally known as the Kirkpatrick Dam, and all access to the area following Jeffers’ statements.
“Out of an abundance of caution, explosive detection K9s were used in the area surrounding the dam and nothing was found,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement
With the help of deputies from the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, the Putnam County Negotiations Team and the county’s SWAT team, a standoff reportedly began at Rodman.
Deputies secured Jeffers into custody six hours later, one report states, after Jeffers was struck with a “Direct Impact munition” in the upper left portion of his back to distract and apprehend him.
First responders transported Jeffers to HCA Florida Putnam Hospital for medical clearance after the incident and he was booked into the county jail early Wednesday morning without the benefit of bail. The sheriff’s office stated at the time of the incident Jeffers had been out on bail from Marion County after he reportedly threatened and attempted to bomb his mother’s residence with propane and hit her.
“Due to the nature of the incident, upon arrival to the jail, mental health protocols were initiated to evaluate and begin services,” the county sheriff’s office stated.