A Michigan teenager was sentenced to eight years in federal prison on Monday, more than a year after he made a bomb threat to a cruise ship his girlfriend was on board because he was upset with her and her family.
Joshua Lowe, 19, admitted to federal agents that he sent the email to Carnival Cruise Lines in January 2024, which caused the ship to divert its course to Jamaica and direct its crew to search all over the massive vessel for a bomb, according to a sentencing memorandum obtained by HuffPost.
“Hey, I think someone might have a bomb on your sunrise cruise ship,” Lowe’s email read.
Carnival investigators and FBI agents traced the email address back to Lowe, who was living with his girlfriend’s family at the time, according to the memorandum.
“Lowe admitted he sent the message because he was upset that the family went on the cruise, while leaving him behind,” prosecutors wrote.
Lowe would attempt to recant his confession, but eventually pleaded guilty to a felony charge of false information and hoaxes, according to the memorandum. He apologized to the judge and investigating agents who worked on the case in a letter dated earlier this month saying, “This is all my fault and take full responsibility.”
“I want you to know now after all this, I have learned how to be more responsible, and learn from my mistakes,” Lowe wrote.
In a separate letter to the judge, Lowe’s mother also pleaded for mercy on her son’s sentencing, stating “I do not know what lead my son to make this poor choice or why he never thought of the consequences of his actions before he did anything.”
She goes on to say she believes Lowe needs guidance to learn and become a better person.
“My hope for him is to learn from his mistakes, we all make them and the key is to learn from them and move forward, leaving the past behind and going into the future as a better person,” the mother wrote.
However, prosecutors argued in their memorandum that Lowe’s sentencing should “send a strong deterrent message” even if no one was physically injured from the threat.
“It is not hard, however, to imagine a scenario where a victim is trampled or suffers a heart attack during a chaotic evacuation, or some other harm ensues,” prosecutors wrote.
