William Jordan, a mechanic for the Tampa Bay Rays grounds crew, should stick to his regular job — that is, if he still has it. The 38-year-old simply isn't cut out for a job in comedy.
Jordan was arrested Wednesday for what he deemed a "practical joke" but what police refer to as a bomb threat. Reports indicate that a "beeping" box with wires sticking out of it was taped to a cabinet near Gate 2 at Tropicana Field. When maintenance workers found the box shortly after 2 p.m. ET, officers were summoned to the area.
"His actions were in very poor taste and do not reflect the values of the organization," Rays vice president Rick Vaughn wrote in an e-mail.
Once Jordan saw the uproar, he quickly came clean and told authorities it was simply a prank.
"Within a few minutes of getting the call, this guy came forward and said 'I'm sorry,' " said police spokesman Bill Proffitt. "I can only speculate that he saw that everyone was taking this serious."
The clubhouses were not evacuated and the gates opened at the regularly scheduled time of 5:10 p.m. ET. The Tampa Bay Regional Bomb Squad did arrive to confirm that the bomb was indeed a fake before Jordan was taken to Pinellas County Jail to be booked.
