Milwaukee man accused of calling in bomb threat because he didn’t want to go to work

Milwaukee: On March 1, a 24-year-old Milwaukee man is charged with making a bomb threat at the Milwaukee Athletic Club. Aveon James is the defendant; he is charged with a felony of inciting fear or panic among the people.

The criminal complaint states that on Wednesday, Milwaukee police were called to the Milwaukee Athletic Club on N. Broadway in response to a bomb threat.

Authorities spoke with the club’s front desk employee. She said when she answered the phone, a man said, “I have a bomb in the building. You have one hour to evacuate, or I will detonate,” the complaint says.

The facility was evacuated and the front desk employee’s boss phoned the police. The bomb squad was sent in by the police. Approximately 100 people were impacted. 

Police later learned that Aveon James (the defendant), a worker who worked in the building but hadn’t reported for duty, was listed as the owner of the phone number that had been used to make the call.

James was detained by police after he “apologized for calling in the bomb threat,” according to the complaint. James “admitted to making the call and admitted that there never was a bomb; he just made the threat so that he would not have to go to work that day,” the complaint states.