Deputies: Man made bomb threat to avoid work

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 Post reported.

More than 20 people evacuated Wellington's water treatment plant shortly after the threatening 911 call around 7 am 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.