Florida Officer Could Keep away from Trial in Onerous Rock On line casino Bomb Case

• St. Petersburg officer entered diversion program that might erase felony expenses
• Case tied to Onerous Rock On line casino explosives investigation now closed
• Prosecutors say officer shared delicate police database info with suspect

Fees towards a St. Petersburg, Fla., police officer accused of improperly sharing info from police databases with a person who planted explosives within the Onerous Rock On line casino Tampa may very well be dropped, The Tampa Bay Occasions experiences.

St Petersburg police officer Brandon Klaiber, left, is alleged to have shared restricted info with the late Bryan Eckley, proper, who’s accused of planting do-it-yourself explosive gadgets on the Onerous Rock Tampa in September 2024. (Picture: SPPD)

Brandon Klaiber, 41, was charged in April final yr with two felony counts of offenses towards mental property for allegedly offering Robert Eckley with tag automobile numbers and driver’s license info on sure people at Eckley’s request. It’s unclear whether or not this had any connection to Eckley’s alleged try and bomb the Onerous Rock.

Eckley positioned two do-it-yourself gadgets in a restroom on the Onerous Rock on Sept. 29 and 30, 2024, in response to prosecutors. He was going through expenses of constructing, possessing, putting, or discharging a harmful system with intent to trigger hurt, however has since died in circumstances his lawyer described as unclear.

Slap on the Wrist?

In the meantime, The Occasions has found that Klaiber has been entered into Florida’s Pretrial Intervention (PTI) program, a prosecutor-run diversion scheme for nonviolent, first-time, or low-level offenders.

As an alternative of going to trial, the defendant agrees to supervision and situations. In the event that they full this system efficiently, the fees are dropped. Circumstances usually embody a interval of supervision, throughout which any violation, together with a brand new arrest, can result in the case being reinstated for prosecution.

Threat to Public

It stays unclear what motivated Eckley to plant the explosives, which police described as “crude hid system[s] with firework parts” that had been radio-controlled.

An arrest warrant mentioned one of many gadgets was positioned close to a gasoline line and that each had been positioned in a means that, had they detonated, would have posed a threat of great bodily damage to anybody close by.

Police later recognized Eckley via surveillance footage and arrested him in late October. A search of his dwelling turned up firearms, a stun gun, chemical grenades, and flashbang gadgets, investigators mentioned.

An examination of Eckley’s cellphone revealed textual content message exchanges with Klaiber wherein the officer supplied the delicate info.

Outdated Buddies

St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway mentioned final yr that it was unclear whether or not Klaiber was conscious of Eckley’s alleged plans on the Onerous Rock.

Investigators mentioned Klaiber first shared info with Eckley in June 2024, about three months earlier than the incidents on the on line casino.

Klaiber and Eckley had been buddies for greater than 15 years, and sharing the knowledge was “an ongoing factor,” Holloway mentioned.

Klaiber has been on unpaid administrative depart since Dec. 3, 2025.