Man accused of using fake accent in threat to 'blow up' Melbourne gay bar

Randolph Goodwin, 18, is accused of making a false bomb threat.

MELBOURNE, Fla. – An 18-year-old Melbourne man who police said used a fake "Middle Eastern" accent to phone in a bomb threat to a West Melbourne gay bar was arrested.

Randolph Goodwin, described by police as a student, was arrested Jan. 31 and charged with making a false report of a bomb after workers at the Twisted Rooster barm, on West New Haven Avenue, called to report the threat, reports News 6 partner Florida Today. West Melbourne police responded a short time later, evacuated the business and used police dogs to search the premises for any explosives. None were found.

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Goodwin — tracked down by detectives through phone records — later told West Melbourne officers that he and several friends were making prank calls to local businesses, reports show. He called the Twisted Rooster on his cellphone and made comments about a bomb as a joke, he said.

Police said a caller, later identified as Goodwin, called using a Middle Eastern accent and asked an employee if the nightspot was a "gay" bar. The employee told the caller, "yes, we are a no labels bar."

The employee told police that the caller then screamed that he was going to "blow up the bar," and hung up.

The incident is the latest in a series of arrests involving hoax bomb threats. Authorities have made a number of arrests regarding bomb threats targeting schools and other facilities in recent months. Goodwin was booked into the Brevard County Jail Complex and later was released on a $5,000 bond. No court date has been set.


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