News and Investigations

On Monday, March 10, 2025 at around 8:40 am, the principal of Ridge Community High School in Haines City, notified the School Resource Deputy at the facility, that she received three phone calls from an unknown male; the first call she heard nothing, the second call she heard, “I have a bomb,” and the third call she heard, “It was a joke.”

The ensuing investigation determined that the phone number belonged to 18-year old Jaimelias Rivera-Rodriguez.

Contact was made with Rivera-Rodriguez and he admitted to making the calls. He told the deputy that his friend, 18-year old Ethan Bork gave him the principal’s phone number and told him to call it and say that he had a bomb.

When contact was made with Ethan Bork, he told the deputy that he didn’t know why he gave Jaimelias the principal’s phone number, nor why he told him to say that he had a bomb.

Both suspects were arrested and taken to the Polk County Jail and charged with: False Report of a Bomb (F2), Conspiracy to Commit Offense with Destructive Device (F3), Use of 2-Way Communication Device to Commit Felony (F3), and Make Harassing Phone Call (M2).

“Regardless that there was no bomb, these type of calls are never just a joke. They are not harmless pranks. They are stupid actions that have consequences; they are crimes, and we will find the people who make calls like this and put them in jail, just like we did with these two.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff

Ethan Bork is a student at Ridge Community High School, and Jaimelias River-Rodriguez attended the school last year.