FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. — Action News Jax is learning new details about the arrest of a man who claimed to have a bomb on the Fernandina Beach Middle School campus on Friday.
We told you Friday that Ralph Suarez, 68, is charged with:
- Exhibiting a weapon on school property
- Armed trespass on school property
- False report of bomb threats
- Resisting arrest
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
The Fernandina Beach Police Department said Suarez was found outside of the school on Friday, sitting on the ground with a blanket next to him that had several knives and a compound bow with arrows all laid out.
The school was placed on a brief lockdown as a result of Suarez’s arrest.
Suarez’s arrest report said he was “blocking the student drop off.”
When he was approached by an officer, the arrest report said Suarez “stated his purpose on school grounds was to pick up the volleyball team.”
However, the report said “Suarez had no business being on school grounds and does not have a child who attends the school.”
RELATED: Man arrested after allegedly threatening to blow up Fernandina Beach Middle School, police say
In addition to Suarez’s weapons, the officer also saw “an alcoholic beverage (unopened) and several Masonic books,” the report said.
The officer asked Suarez to provide his ID. The report said Suarez handed the officer his wallet and the officer asked him to take the ID out for him.
“He became angry (began cussing loudly) and threw down his wallet in my direction,” the officer said in the report of Suarez.
RELATED: Man found with weapons on Fernandina Beach Middle School campus arrested, police say
Due to his aggression and proximity to students, staff, and parents and weapons, the officer told Suarez “he was being detained and to place his hands behind his back,” the report said.
The officer said “Suarez actively resisted and attempted to get back into his vehicle” and he was “escorted to the ground and placed under arrest.”
When he was being searched, Suarez claimed “there was a bomb in his car” and then said “it was in his wallet.”
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
Suarez’s arrest report also shows he is also charged with four counts of luring and enticing a child under the age of 14.
This is because he “spontaneously uttered that he was asking children to fix his stereo for $100 each,” the arrest report said.
Before an officer confronted Suarez about weapons he had spread out on a blanket in the school’s parking lot, four students came forward and said that a subject approached them in front of the school offering them $100 each to fix the stereo inside of his vehicle.
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
“The students further reported that he asked them to meet him at an unknown location after school,” the report said. “The students described the male as older white male (smoking a cigarette), driving a white SUV ... This description matches Suarez.”
Suarez was at first taken to Baptist Medical Center Nassau to be medically cleared and then was booked into the Nassau County Jail.
His next court date is set for Thursday, October 22 at 9 a.m.
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
