The Augusta man who disrupted the Social Security Office this week by walking outside with a “I have a bomb” note has a history of criminal behavior and mental issues.
Keyon Dickens, 38, was released from a Georgia prison in 2020 after serving less than a year of a 14-year sentence for multiple aggravated assaults in Richmond County.
In a 2013 report, a local woman said Dickens had harassed her and entered her office on Blake Drive, saying he would “end her.”
“She felt threatened,” a report says, “because she knows he has a mental health history.”
Dickens pleaded guilty to terroristic threats in that case and got probation. He also has multiple convictions for domestic violence and obstruction of officers.
On Tuesday, the Bomb Squad was called to the Social Security Office on Robert C. Daniel Jr. Parkway to clear the suspect’s book bag. Dickens was seen walking alongside the federal building.
Deputies ordered Dickens to drop the book bag and soon found a white paper towel on him that had “I have a bomb” written on it. Dickens seemed to like the attention.
“(He) requested if he was going to be on the news and that we should loosen his handcuffs so that he looks good for the news,” a deputy said in their report.
The sheriff’s office eventually turned the case over to the FBI since the incident occurred at a federal office. Dickens was released Wednesday from jail.
The suspect is reportedly a father, since the mother of his child called the cops in 2011 because he had been punching her. The violence occurred in front of their 6-month-old daughter, a report says. The victim suffered a cut to her lip that required stitches.
When deputies went to the home to confront Dickens, he was holding his infant daughter and initially refused to put her down. Dickens was charged with battery and child cruelty, and he was eventually ordered to serve 30 days in jail and probation.
Meanwhile, the bomb squad was called out again with a suspicious package was found Friday afternoon at U.S. Rep. Rick Allen’s office in Augusta. The entire office building was evacuated at 2743 Perimeter Parkway, but the scene was cleared when nothing dangerous was found.
