Navy Contractors Joshua Rice, Roberto Rubio Arrested in Bomb Hoax Scam

Two Navy contractors were cuffed and charged Wednesday in separate bomb hoaxes that triggered emergency shutdowns at Naval Base San Diego, disrupting critical ship maintenance and wasting federal resources. Joshua Rice, 26, of San Diego, and Roberto Rubio, 22, of San Diego, both working as civilian contractors, are accused of fabricating explosive threats that sent security teams scrambling and brought shipyard operations to a halt—twice.

Rice allegedly reported seeing the word “bomb” scrawled inside a portable toilet near three Naval vessels on May 17, 2016. At the time, he was working for American Marine. The claim prompted a full security lockdown—halting all work on the ships and the pier—despite Rice knowing full well there was no actual threat. The Navy’s response, standard protocol for such threats, cost valuable man-hours and derailed mission readiness.

Months later, on September 24, 2016, Rubio—employed by BAE Systems as a welder—wrote “9-24-16 400 bomb” on an interior wall of the USS Cowpens while it underwent maintenance at the San Diego Ship Repair Facility. He then reported the message to another contractor. The false alarm again triggered a security sweep, clearing the ship and freezing work until the threat could be ruled out. Rubio’s stunt added to a string of disruptions plaguing the base since late 2015.

Both men were indicted under Title 18, United States Code, Section 1038(a)(1), for False Information and Hoaxes. Each faces up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. No physical explosives were ever found. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) led the probe, calling the false reports a direct threat to national defense operations through sheer bureaucratic sabotage.

“Everyone should know that making false bomb threats is taken very seriously by federal law enforcement, and it is a felony offense,” said U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy. “This is not a legal or smart way of getting out of work.” Gunnar Newquist, Special Agent in Charge of NCIS Southwest, emphasized the cumulative damage: “The bomb threats on and around Naval Base San Diego since November 2015 have had a huge negative impact on the efficiency and productivity of the shipyard’s efforts to maintain Navy readiness.”

Rice is scheduled for a motion hearing and trial setting on January 30, 2017, before Judge William Q. Hayes (Case No. 17CR2855-WQH). Rubio is set to appear before Judge John A. Houston on January 9, 2017 (Case No. 17CR2856-JAH). The indictments are accusations; both defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.