SC man arrested for threat to White House, Charleston

North Myrtle Beach police arrested Justin M. McCoy, 25, of Horry County on Tuesday, after officers say he called in reports of bombs in the White House and somewhere in Charleston.

McCoy called the city’s public safety office at 11:25 p.m. on Tuesday, telling dispatchers to call the FBI because “there is a bomb planted in the White House,” according to a police report. McCoy then hung up the phone, police said.

Ten minutes later, dispatchers say the same caller called again, this time saying there was a bomb planted in Charleston, the report stated. “Dispatch called the caller back and the caller identified himself as Justin McCoy.”

Officers met with McCoy at a gas station on 33rd Avenue South in North Myrtle Beach and said he confessed to the calls, but would not say whether or not the threats were legitimate.

There have not been any bombs located at or near the White House, according to the report.

McCoy was arrested just before midnight on Tuesday in North Myrtle Beach, city spokesman Pat Dowling said in an email. He was charged with making a bomb threat or conveying false information about a bomb threat.

McCoy has “an extensive criminal history including a previous conviction for calling in a bomb threat along with threatening the life of a public official,” Officer Chris Bellamy noted in the report.

“Neither the city nor the public safety department will be granting interviews relating to this incident at this time. It is a continuing investigation that involves other levels of law enforcement beyond North Myrtle Beach public safety,” Dowling said in the email.

McCoy is being held on $15,000 bond, jail records show.