LEXINGTON, S.C. — State agents have charged a man who they say threatened the life of Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said they've arrested 44-year-old Erik Joseph McBride and booked him on the following charges: manufacture, possession, use, aid or counsel of a bomb/hoax device or replica; threatening the life or family of a public official; and unlawful communication.
Arrest warrants state on February 2, McBride used his personal email to threaten Sheriff Koon. Agents say SLED's bomb squad looked at the note, and determined that within the message was a description of a way to create an improvised explosive device. It also contained a phrase that law enforcement said was a terroristic threat.
McBride was then arrested and taken into custody, first at the Lexington County Detention Center before being move to the Newberry County Detention Center.
The case will be prosecuted by the South Carolina Attorney General's Office.
