A 14-year-old Florida middle school student was arrested and charged as an adult earlier this year after authorities said he had been making homemade firearms and explosives while preparing for a planned robbery.
The case involving Julian Davis and his 13-year-old friend began April 27, when St. Johns County sheriff’s deputies received a tip that the two boys had exchanged Telegram messages about “holding someone at gunpoint” in order to rob them, according to an arrest report.
Investigators said the messages between the students, who attended Switzerland Point Middle School, included details about constructing a shotgun and a musket, along with plans to obtain zip ties, the report states.
Sheriff Robert Hardwick and federal investigators spoke publicly about the case for the first time at a Friday news conference. Officials said the decision to charge Davis, whom they described as having a strong interest in school shooters, may have helped prevent a potential “tragedy” at the school and in the surrounding community.
Booking photo of Julian Davis, a 14-year-old middle school student, who authorities say was planning an armed robbery with homemade firearms. (St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office)
Davis was taken into custody April 30 and faces multiple adult charges related to firearms and explosives. Both Davis and the 13-year-old were charged with conspiracy to commit robbery with a firearm, though the younger teen was not charged as an adult.
From April 27 to April 30, sheriff’s deputies and federal agents searched Davis’ home several times, where they reported finding three homemade firearms, ammunition, suspected explosive materials and improvised handcuffs.
Authorities also said they discovered handwritten notes showing weapon construction and what appeared to be a drawing of a Molotov cocktail, according to photos released by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.
Searches also revealed a tactical vest with “White supremacy drawings” and a copy of the manifesto by Brenton Tarrant, a White supremacist who, in 2019, went on shooting sprees at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 51 people.
Homemade shotguns found in Davis’ Florida home during a searches by sheriff’s deputies and federal agents in late April. (St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office)
Other items of concern found by authorities in Davis’ home included a U.S. Army improvised munitions handbook and a copy of “The Anarchist Cookbook,” a 1971 book that contains instructions on how to make explosives, weapons and illicit drugs.
Hardwick said Davis and his friend had planned to rob someone named CJ, though investigators have been unable to determine who CJ is.
Based on this evidence, plus online searches by Davis, Hardwick said there was a “much bigger picture than just a robbery of that individual.”
Ammunition found in Davis’ home during searches by law enforcement officials. (St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office)
“Davis was using his devices in his home to research things. He had a [fixation] with people that had committed these mass school shootings, people that have gone in and done these mass stabbings,” Hardwick said. “So, he was actually spending a lot of his time on there going through these high-profile cases. And it’s something that he actually wanted to emulate.”
Davis is still in custody at the St. Johns County Jail on a $240,000 bond, the sheriff said. He pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and is scheduled to be arraigned again next month.
Davis’ attorney, Jill Barger, expressed concern that Davis had spent four months “in an empty pod” at the jail. She told News Outlet he has grown frightened and depressed, while accusing the state of not providing him “the resources he needs.”
Barger also slammed the sheriff’s office for publicly announcing the charges, calling it an attempt to “influence jurors ahead of trial.”
A photo released by the St. Johns Sheriff’s Department of a homemade pistol and brass knuckles found in Davis’ home. (St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office)
“Julian NEVER even thought about harming anyone,” Barger said in a statement to News Outlet. “The police were reckless and cruel to suggest they prevented a mass casualty event. There is no evidence of this. No writings by Julian, no threats, nothing.”
Davis’ friend, with whom he was texting about the alleged robbery, spent 21 days in the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice before being released, the sheriff said.
Neither of the boys will be allowed to return to their school. St. Johns County School District deputy superintendent Paul Abbatinozzi clarified there was never a direct threat to Switzerland Point Middle School.
The tip about the boys’ alleged activities was initially submitted to the school through FortifyFL, a platform created after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting designed to identify potential threats from suspicious students.
