Cary Man Accused of Making Threats to Children Now Faces Federal Charges

RALEIGH, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Michael Easley announced the filing of a criminal complaint against Kevin Edral Douglas, 46, alleging that he made threats to shoot or injure children. Douglas was originally arrested on Wednesday by the Cary Police Department and was rearrested on Thursday morning. He remains in custody at this time.

“The swift action by the Cary Police Department to mitigate this threat helped to keep the community safe,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “We are proud to partner with Chief Terry Sult and FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force to prioritize the investigation and prosecution of threats of violence before action is taken.”

“The safety and well-being of the public are our utmost priority, and we are committed to taking all necessary actions in coordination with all our public safety partners on the local, State, and Federal level to ensure their protection. We also want to extend our gratitude to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for their vigilance and quick reporting of this threat, which undoubtedly played a crucial role in resolving this situation before anyone was hurt,” said Cary Police Chief Terry Sult.

"The FBI has a strong partnership with the Cary Police Department. Special agents and task force officers work alongside one another every day. The swift action in this case is proof of exactly how important our joint mission is to the safety of our community," said Robert M. DeWitt, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina. 

According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a series of threatening communications via a cybertip reporting service on NCMEC’s public website. The communications that were reported included references to killing children. An investigation into the cybertips led law enforcement to believe that the threats were being made by Douglas, who was residing at the Extended Stay America Motel on Weston Parkway in Cary.

Douglas has a 2016 federal conviction for communicating interstate threats to the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., and an extensive history of threatening behavior beginning around 2002 and spanning at least eight states.

The complaint charges Douglas with knowingly and willfully transmitting in interstate and foreign commerce from North Carolina to Virginia, communications to NCMEC via the cybertip reporting service, and the communications contained a threat to kidnap and injure children.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Cary and Raleigh Police Departments are investigating the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad DeVoe is prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No.5:23-MJ-2298.

A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.