Bomb threat at Bristol hospital prompts felony arrests of mother, two children
Family bonding can be nurtured through camping trips, dinners with no TV blaring in the background, or perhaps a friendly board game.
Or — as was allegedly the case for a Bristol mother and her children — planting a package in a hospital emergency room and claiming it's a bomb. According to police, the entire family committed the felony because they, "thought it would be a funny thing to do."
Candace Marie Tester, 54, of Bristol, Tenn., has been arrested in the Wednesday evening incident at Bristol Regional Medical Center, along with her two children. According to a press release from Bristol Tennessee Police, shortly before 6 p.m. the hospital switchboard received a call, stating there was a bomb beneath a chair in the emergency room lobby.
That area of the hospital was evacuated and security officers located the package. Units from Bristol Tennessee and Virginia Police Departments responded to the scene, determining the package was not a bomb and posed no threat.
Police say video surveillance helped identify three people who placed the package, and were also patients of the emergency room shortly before the incident occurred. An investigator recognized one of the suspects as Tester, with further investigation revealing she was accompanied by her 18-year-old son, John Preston Tester, and her 21-year-old daughter, Virginia Maria Sullins.
Officers located all three individuals at their residence, which was not identified in a press release. Police say John Tester admitted to placing the package in the ER, while Virginia Sullins fessed up to calling the switchboard to report it was a bomb.
According to police, Sullins said the entire family thought it would be "funny."
All three were charged with a class C felony of false reporting, which caries a possible sentencing range of 2 to 15 years. They are currently held in the Sullivan County Jail with bond set at $5,000 each.
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Yeah your right how freakin funny! or maybe to get that script.......