Suspect sentenced in Augusta Social Security bomb threat

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A Richmond County man was sentenced after he entered a guilty plea to a federal charge related to a bomb threat last year targeting the Social Security Administration’s Augusta office, we learned on Thursday.

Keyon Tishaye Dickens, 38, of Augusta, was sentenced to 36 months after he pleaded guilty to using a telephone to make a threat to injure a person or damage a building by explosives, according to prosecutors.

U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall also ordered Dickens to serve three years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term.

There is no parole in the federal system.

“Threats of violence against workers and customers of any facility are completely unacceptable,” said U.S. Attorney Steinberg. “We commend our law enforcement partners for ensuring the safety of those in the Social Security office and assisting in holding Keyon Dickens accountable for his actions.”

He could’ve gotten up to 10 years in prison.

As described in the plea agreement, Dickens received a notice in September 2023 that the Social Security Administration intended to recoup overpayments to his Supplemental Security Income from future checks.

He called the Social Security Administration office in Augusta to complain and stated, “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.”

Dickens visited the office on Oct. 10, 2023, carrying a backpack and showed a note that read “I have a bomb” to a security officer.

The officer notified the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office and the building was locked down and evacuated. No bomb was found, and Richmond County deputies took Dickens into custody.

“Keyon Dickens’ malicious actions are criminal and intolerable. This sentence demonstrates that threats to Social Security employees and offices are felonious and will not be ignored. We will continue to aggressively respond to threats, investigate the perpetrators, and seek prosecution,” said Michelle L. Anderson, Acting SSA Inspector General. “I am thankful that there was no harm to SSA employees. I appreciate the immediate response from the security officers in the local SSA office, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives in investigating this matter and I thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for prosecuting this case.”

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney George J.C. Jacobs III.

Copyright 2023 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.