A Key West man and former felon ended up in jail on Tuesday after he sent a threatening text message to two of his ex-girlfriends depicting him holding a gun.
William James Smith, 32, was charged with written threat to injure or kill and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Around 8:50 a.m., officers with the Key West Police Department met with the victims, both of whom have children with Smith, who stated Smith had sent a threatening text to them. According to the report, Smith saw the two women together that morning and “felt disrespected by them.” The victims were particularly concerned because Smith included a picture of a revolver in the texts.
Officers contacted Smith over the phone, and informed him that threatening messages are a criminal act. He apologized and told officers that he doesn’t actually have a gun, but that he downloaded the picture off the internet.
The officers then requested to meet with him in person and Smith agreed. However, when they met with him, they immediately noticed the bracelet Smith was wearing was an exact match to the bracelet on the hand holding the gun in the picture.
Smith then admitted to having a gun, saying he found it when he was cleaning his yard. He gave the gun to the officers, and a check of the serial number showed the gun was stolen in 1989 from Monroe County. No ammunition was found with the weapon. Smith admitted to being a convicted felon, having been arrested in 2016 for possession of cocaine.
Smith was arrested and transported to the Monroe County Detention Center, where he was being held on a bond of $35,000.
Information in the Crime Report is obtained from reports provided by area law enforcement agencies.
If you have information that could help solve a crime in the Florida Keys, call Crime Stoppers, 800-346-TIPS.