Karry Max Taylor III, Hoax Bomb Threat, SC 2024

COLUMBIA, SC – A Columbia man with a disturbing motive was sentenced today for terrorizing the city with a fabricated bomb threat. Karry Max Taylor, III, age 21, will spend 12 months and 1 day behind bars after pleading guilty to violating Title 18, United States Code, Section 1038(a), relating to hoax bomb threats. Senior United States District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie also handed down a three-year supervised release and ordered Taylor to foot the bill for the emergency response he triggered.

The January 4, 2016 incident sent shockwaves through the city when three individuals – two in South Carolina and one in New York – received alarming text messages. One read, “Hey Montana, this is Sosa. Omar said he put a bomb in the parking lot or something…in the VA hospital on Garners Ferry Road. I am scared and I don’t know what to do.” The texts, traced back to a South Carolina phone number, specifically referenced the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Columbia.

Law enforcement didn’t take any chances. The Columbia Police Department, Columbia Fire Department, and Veterans Affairs Medical Center Police Department converged on the scene, immediately locking down the facility and initiating a comprehensive sweep of the parking area. For three grueling hours, emergency personnel searched for an explosive device that never existed. The entire operation was a costly and dangerous waste of resources, all stemming from a twisted scheme.

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force eventually connected the hoax texts to a cellular phone and email account belonging to Taylor. What investigators uncovered was even more unsettling: Taylor, a volunteer with the Columbia Fire Department, admitted to deliberately sending the messages to random numbers. His warped logic? To draw other fire engines to the VA Medical Center, hoping his own station would then be free to respond to other calls. A callous disregard for public safety fueled by ego and a bizarre desire to be ‘needed’.

Taylor isn’t just facing time; he’s paying for the chaos he caused. Judge Currie ordered him to make restitution totaling $1,487.77 to the Columbia Fire Department and Columbia Police Department, covering the costs of their response to the fabricated threat. He was also assessed a $100 court fee. Assistant United States Attorney Stacey D. Haynes of the Columbia office prosecuted the case, ensuring Taylor faced consequences for his reckless actions.

This case serves as a stark reminder that even seemingly harmless pranks can have serious repercussions. Making false bomb threats is a federal crime with severe penalties, and those who engage in such behavior will be held accountable. The FBI continues to investigate threats to public safety, and those who attempt to disrupt emergency services will face the full force of the law.