A Richmond County man has pleaded guilty to a federal charge stemming from a bomb threat made against the Social Security Administration's Augusta office. Keyon Tishaye Dickens, 38, of Augusta, admitted to using a telephone to make a threat to injure a person or damage a building by explosives, according to Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.
Dickens' plea could result in a sentence of up to 10 years in prison; it should be noted that there is no parole in the federal system. The plea agreement detailed that Dickens had received a notice in September 2023 regarding the Social Security Administration's intention to recoup overpayments from his future Supplemental Security Income checks.
In response, Dickens called the Social Security Administration office in Augusta and threatened, “I’m going to shoot the office up and I’m going to blow it up. I haven’t decided yet what I’m going to do.” Later, he visited the office with a backpack and showed a note stating “I have a bomb” to a security officer.
The security officer promptly alerted the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, leading to an immediate lockdown and evacuation of the building. No bomb was discovered during the incident and Dickens was subsequently taken into custody by Richmond County deputies.
U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall will schedule sentencing for Dickens following completion of a pre-sentence investigation by U.S. Probation Services.
The case was investigated collaboratively by the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General and Richmond County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney George J.C. Jacobs III is prosecuting for the United States.