TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Prosecutors drop case against 1 suspect in USF bomb hoax

ADVERTISEMENT

By TOM BRENNAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 3, 2009

Vincent McCoy

TAMPA - Prosecutors have dropped the case against a University of South Florida student accused of standing up on a campus bus during a school lockdown and saying he had a bomb.

There wasn't enough evidence to prove Vincent McCoy wasn't joking when he made the statement Oct. 5, the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office said today. In a memo, Assistant State Attorney Pamela Dato said her investigation couldn't prove criminal intent.

McCoy, 23, had been charged with making a false report concerning planting a bomb on state-owned property. He was being held on $7,500 bail, records show.

Authorities said McCoy made the threat while the Tampa campus was locked down after someone called in a bomb threat that also later proved to be a hoax.

Markenson Innocent, 26, was arrested two days after the lockdown, accused of calling 911 from a pay phone to report that a man in the USF library had a bomb and a gun.

Prosecutors today formally charged Innocent with making a false report of a bombing or arson against state-owned property and with disrupting a school campus or function.

He has been released on $9,750 bail, records show.

According to police, McCoy stood up on the bus and said he was the man campus authorities were seeking. He later said it was just a joke; police blew up his backpack and found no evidence of a bomb.

Dato said McCoy made his comments only after the bus driver asked whether anyone on the bus had any jokes.

According to witnesses, McCoy said, "I got the bomb right here: no sudden moves."

One bus rider told prosecutors she wasn't concerned because the alleged threat was made in "a joking manner," Dato said.

Reporter Tom Brennan can be reached at (813) 259-7698.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT