Middle school student arrested after allegedly stashing homemade guns for robbery plot: sheriff

A Florida middle school student was arrested and charged as an adult earlier this year after allegedly creating his own homemade guns and explosives in preparation for a robbery, authorities said this week.

The investigation into Julian Davis, 14, and his 13-year-old friend began April 27, when St. Johns County sheriff’s deputies received a tip that the boys had been messaging each other on Telegram about "holding someone at gunpoint" to rob them, according to an arrest report.

The alleged texts between the boys, who attended Switzerland Point Middle School, contained information about building a shotgun and musket and obtaining zip ties, according to the arrest report.

Sheriff Robert Hardwick and federal investigators addressed the case publicly for the first time during a news conference Friday. Authorities said charging Davis, who they claim demonstrated an intense interest in school shooters, could have prevented a "tragedy" at the middle school and the broader community.

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Davis was arrested April 30 and was charged as an adult with multiple gun and explosive offenses. Davis and his 13-year-old friend were both charged with conspiracy to commit a robbery with a gun. The younger boy was not charged as an adult.

Between April 27 and 30, sheriff's deputies and federal agents conducted multiple searches of Davis' home, finding three homemade firearms, ammunition, suspected explosive components and makeshift handcuffs.

Also found in Davis' home were handwritten notes depicting the construction of weapons and an apparent drawing of what appeared to be a Molotov cocktail, according to photos released by the 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.

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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."

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"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 $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 Fox News Digital 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."

"Julian never even thought about harming anyone," Barger said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "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.