An Orlando woman is behind bars in the Marion County Jail after an incident Tuesday involving a bomb threat at a busy Ocala hotel.
An Ocala Police officer responded to the Ocala Hilton, located at 3600 S.W. 36th Ave., on Wednesday and was told by a dispatcher that 29-year-old Elizabeth Soto had called and said there was “about to be a fight at the Hilton if they don’t give her money back and there might be a bomb in the back,” a police report states.
The dispatcher Soto had threatened to “punch the police officers and take their guns and shoot everyone.” The dispatcher also said that employees at the hotel were calling in reference to a female threatening them over the phone, the report says.
An employee told the officer that Soto had been staying at the hotel and had checked in on April 4. The employee said she had paid in cash and had attempted to leave on April 9 with her husband without paying. The employee said officers had responded and they were removed from the property.
The employee also told officers that Soto was upset because she had been charged for damages to her room. She said Soto called the hotel Tuesday, started yelling at her and said she was coming there to “cause a show,” the report says.
The officer called Soto and reported that she became “very agitated” when asked about the incidents at the hotel. She denied saying anything about a bomb and said she used the word “bomba,” referring to a type of dance. She also talked about her mental health and seeing a doctor but when asked about her mental health, she became angry and refused to answer questions, the report says, adding that she eventually became uncooperative and hung up, the report says.
On Wednesday morning, an officer made contact with Soto and her husband on State Road 200. Her husband said she had been upset over charges at the Hilton. He said she had contacted dispatchers at the Ocala Police Department and was upset about not getting help, the report says.
After being read her rights, Soto was asked about making comments about a bomb, punching police officers and shooting people in the hotel. She said she made those statements “out of anger” and didn’t mean them, the report says.
After an officer listened to audio from the call Soto made to dispatchers and confirmed what she had said, she was placed under arrest and transported to the Marion County Jail, where she was charged with making a false bomb threat report. She was being held on $5,000 bond and her next court date hasn’t yet been set, jail records show.