BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Investigators are searching for a man who is wanted in connection with a series of bomb threats to local businesses throughout Brevard County Wednesday. Agents from the Brevard County Sheriff's Office General Crimes Unit are looking for 48-year-old David A. Disharoon.
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WFTV learned Wednesday afternoon that there were five bomb threats made throughout the day. The latest were called in to a Walgreens, a Walmart, Eau Gallie High School, Cape Canaveral Hospital, and the county courthouse.
The sheriff's office says there have been between 30 to 40 bomb threats in three weeks.
Officers said a caller has been targeting local businesses and stating that a bomb will go off in the parking lot unless money is left for him in a particular location.
At approximately 8:20am Wednesday, the sheriff's office received information from the Brevard County Clerk of Courts that they had received a call from an unidentified male who said a pipe bomb had been placed in the parking lot of the main courthouse at Viera. The man then hung up the phone and called back a short time later with more information.
Deputies responded to the courthouse to search the area with the assistance of explosive ordinance canine officers from Patrick Air Force Base. No unusual devices were found at the courthouse and the offices were reopened at approximately 10:00am.
Also, at approximately 9:40am, the sheriff's office received a call from Walmart management saying that they had just received several calls indicating that there was also a bomb in their parking lot located at 8500 N. Wickham Road at Viera (see map) . Management decided to evacuate the store before law enforcement responded to the scene.
A search of the store and parking areas was conducted and no unusual objects were detected.
Agents do not yet know if the calls are related or if they are related to the series of hoax calls that county businesses have received during the past few weeks.
WFTV learned that all the calls are costing the county money.
Deputies can't put an exact cost on it, but they've had to come out to every one of the locations and make sure the calls were hoaxes. It is costing thousands of dollars and disrupting businesses and institutions from Titusville to Palm Bay.
The entrance to Cape Canaveral Hospital was blocked off and bomb sniffing dogs called in after the hospital became the latest institution to receive a threat that a bomb was planted on the premises.
Beth Connell was stuck outside waiting to get her mom who was being released.
"It's frustrating and it's kind of scary some loon doing this," Connell said.
David A. Disharoon bomb threat suspect 051910 David A. Disharoon Authorities believe a homeless man, 48-year-old David Disharoon may be responsible for more than three dozen threats called in to businesses, schools and other institutions across the county.
The court clerk was told the courthouse was a target Wednesday morning.
"It disrupted the whole thing. The whole day was shot," eyewitness Len Voss said.
The phone calls are almost always the same; the caller says there is a pipe bomb in the parking lot and if the receiver puts money in a bag on the street the caller won't detonate the bomb.
No one has ever put money outside and no device has ever been found.
"I don't know if this person or individual , if it is in fact the same person for all of these if he's just trying to get even if he's angry or upset with government in some way," said Lt. Bruce Barnett, Brevard County Sheriff's Office.
Authorities tracked some of the calls back to phones used by Disharoon. But they can't find him. They don't believe he has a car or bike and don't know whether he is visiting any of the locations.
Deputies say they can't remember a time when one person singlehandedly disrupted the lives of so many people.
Officers said they are checking areas homeless people congregate, and they have distributed his picture to police countywide. They want to catch Disharoon and hope the bomb threats will stop.
The man officers are looking for is known to be homeless and is a white male described as approximately 6-feet tall, 175 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. Disharoon currently has an outstanding arrest warrant from the Brevard County Sheriff's Office for at least 13 counts of threats to discharge a destructive device with a bond amount of $1,200,000.
The Palm Bay Police Department also has an outstanding warrant for Disharoon for similar charges that occurred in their jurisdiction. Investigators have not said whether they believe he is responsible for the series of bomb threats made in Osceola County Tuesday (see images) .
Anyone with information in regards to the whereabouts of Disharoon is urged to call Crimeline at 1-800-432-TIPS.
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