Bomb prankster ‘Jhuss Khool’ charged

Twenty-five year-old Chevhne Flowers, a resident of The Aviary, Old Harbour, was formally charged today with malicious communication under the Cyber Crimes Act and creating public mischief for his ill-advised antics.

A court date is being finalized.

Flowers was on Tuesday picked up by detectives assigned to the Old Harbour Police Station’s CIB after issuing a bomb threat in a video posted on TikTok on Sunday. 

The minute-long video immediately went viral as in it a masked Flowers, with a distorted voice, threaten to blow up a gas station in Ocho Rios if a ransom of $20 million is not paid over to him by 7:00 pm the same day.

As the video went viral with every click, that section of the tourist town was brought to a standstill as bomb experts were summoned to the location.

Later in the day the face behind the bomb threat was revealed, with Flowers, who said he’s an up and coming dancehall artiste under the moniker Jhuss Khool, stating it was a prank before offering an apology to the public.

By that time too, the bomb squad was satisfied that the gas station was safe to resume normal operations after their detailed search found nothing.

Now with an identity to work with, the police intensified its investigation with intelligence leading them to The Aviary, a beautiful and quiet middle-income community situated approximately 400 metres west of the Old Harbour town centre.

There, at about midday, Flowers was taken into custody by detectives at the Old Harbour Police Station.

He was subsequently questioned by investigators who informed Old Harbour News that Flowers maintained that his actions was indeed meant to be a joke except that he did not factor the probability of the wider implications his prank would have caused.

Under the Cybercrimes Act of 2015, a person found guilty of malicious communication can be fined or imprisoned for a maximum of 20 years.

In the coming days, as he prepares to face the court, Flowers will hopefully learn his lesson and that pranks such as the one he did on Sunday are just not cool.

In accordance with Jamaican laws, persons impacted negatively by Flowers’ prank could pursue civil litigation against him.

"Making a bomb threat, even as a prank, is a serious matter, and it will be treated as such. We therefore strongly urge everyone to refrain from engaging in these types of disruptive behaviours, whether online or offline," the Jamaica Constabulary Force stated in a release Sunday.

"These so-called pranks are not harmless; they have considerable implications on public order, economic activities, and social harmony. As evidenced by [Sunday's] incident, they can disrupt lives, affect livelihoods, and incite unnecessary fear and confusion among the populace."

Flowers’ mischievous act disrupted commerce and created undue stress and panic on residents in Ocho Rios, Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of crime Fitz Bailey told the Jamaica Observer in the immediate aftermath of the hoax.

"Think about the cost for the country when you have so many resources being deployed [to respond to a prank] where they could be attending to real emergencies [instead]," Bailey was quoted as saying.