A 31-year-old Ocala man is behind bars after he allegedly sent text messages to his parents that he was going to kill them and burn down their home.
On Sunday, May 5, a female victim contacted the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and advised that her son, Joseph Allen Oker, had threatened to kill her. An MCSO corporal responded to the victim’s home and made contact with her, according to the arrest report.
The victim advised that earlier in the day, Oker had arrived at a bus station in Marion County. According to the victim’s statement, she had transported her son’s vehicle and personal belongings to the bus station ahead of time “so he could retrieve them and not return” to her home.
The victim told the corporal that she left the residence with her husband shortly before Oker arrived at the home. Once at the incident location, Oker allegedly changed the position of several of the victim’s security cameras, and the victim contacted law enforcement “out of fear for (her and her husband’s) lives,” according to the report.
The corporal noted in the report that the victim had several threatening text messages on her phone that had been sent from a phone number belonging to Oker. Below are some of the text messages that Oker allegedly sent to the victim:
- “Save do what you want you both are (expletive).”
- “I know 8 different ways I can kill you in a sec and not leave a trace but these texts a jury will have to decide.”
- “Promise you both won’t see the sunrise.”
The report stated that the victim had received several similar messages from Oker starting on Saturday, May 4. She advised that Oker had also made a written threat to burn her house down, which caused her to stay away from the residence “out of fear of (Oker).”
The sheriff’s office responded to the victim’s home and located Oker inside one of the bedrooms. When he saw law enforcement, he made a “spontaneous utterance” regarding the text messages that had been sent to his mother, according to the report.
Oker’s cellphone was collected as evidence. The report stated that when the corporal called the phone number that had sent the threatening messages to the victim, Oker’s phone immediately began ringing.
Oker was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail, where he is currently being held without bond. He is being charged with sending written threats to kill or do bodily harm, which is a felony.
A court date has been scheduled at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, June 4, according to jail records.