GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Muskegon County man is accused of sending in a bomb threat to a popular cruise operator this January.
Joshua Darrell Lowe III, 19, of Bailey, was recently indicted on charges related to this bomb hoax.
U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said the cruise had just departed Miami and was headed to Jamaica as part of a Caribbean cruise when Lowe is accused of sending Carnival Cruise Lines an email warning.
“Hey, I think someone might have a bomb on your sunrise cruise ship," the email read according to federal investigators.
Because of this alarming email, the ship's crew searched more than 1,000 staterooms. Carnival alerted the U.S. Coast Guard and Jamaican authorities, whose Marine Police escorted the ship to port.
This threat turned out to be false.
“We take every threat of mass violence seriously,” U.S. Attorney Totten said. “Hoaxes can endanger lives, incur needless costs, and divert public safety resources needed to address real threats. My office has zero tolerance for wrongdoers who intentionally convey false and misleading information that prompts a law enforcement response.”
If convicted, the 19-year-old faces up to 5 years in prison and could be ordered to pay restitution for the hoax.
“Bomb threats are not a laughing matter and are extremely irresponsible,” Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan said. “When individuals make false hoax threats, they divert critical law enforcement resources and spread unnecessary fear. The FBI takes all threats to life seriously and will ensure that those who resort to this kind of intimidation face the appropriate consequences.”
The FBI investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler is prosecuting it.
