PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. – Pinellas County Sheriff’s detectives have arrested a 17-year-old and charged him with threatening a county commissioner.
Detectives assigned to the Threat Management Division arrested the teen Saturday for a written threat to kill Pinellas County Board of County Commissioner Chris Latvala.
Detectives began their investigation after Commissioner Latvala viewed a threatening social media comment and contacted law enforcement.
Detectives said the teen commented on an X (formerly Twitter) post about the new Tampa Bay Rays stadium.
Authorities said the teen tagged Commissioner Latvala in the comment and stated, "I live 5 minutes from him I'm gonna go to his house and blow his head off with my short-barreled."
The teen turned himself in to detectives at the Pinellas County Juvenile Assessment Center and was charged with one count of Written Threats to Kill.
The investigation is ongoing.
In accordance with Spectrum Bay News 9’s crime guidelines, we are not naming the teen as he is a juvenile.