UPDATE: Charges have been formally filed against the wannabe rapper caught on video making threats against Spruce Creek High School. According to a charging affidavit from the Daytona Beach Police Department, Welborn—who said he had aspirations to be a rapper—told investigators that he's had problems with someone online stealing his content. Around Saturday (Jan. 22), the FBI in Jacksonville received a transcript of one of Welborn's videos and requested a well-being check on Welborn and a Baker Act evaluation, but he did not meet the critera.
Police made contact with Welborn at his job and was detained for questioning. During the interview, he said the video was a misunderstanding, saying he was upset because of someone "trolling" his content. When asked why he chose Spruce Creek High School as a target, he said he felt threatened by what people from the school were saying on his YouTube Live.
The report further states that the Port Orange Police Department received a report about the incident on Sunday (Jan. 23) after a woman found the videos and reported them. And according to records from the Volusia County Jail, Welborn wasn't booked and processed until Monday morning (Jan. 24).
You can find our earlier reporting below
Daytona Beach, FL - New information obtained by News Daytona Beach offers a new look into the man who threatened to shoot up a school and his job.
After a check with the Volusia County Clerk of Courts, News Daytona Beach learned that Tron Welborn was charged in an incident somewhat similar to the one that just landed him in jail.
In 2015, Welborn was charged twice with aggravated stalking and once with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. An arrest report says a coworker of Welborn’s at the time called the Port Orange Police Department after he sent him several threatening voice recordings and video messages; each containing “numerous homicidal statements.”
In one message, Welborn was seen on video with a “Scream” mask on as he jumped around his room dry-firing a weapon at different items. In a voice recording, Welborn was heard saying “people done (expletive) up dude, they’re gonna be shot and killed probably.”
In other interviews with his coworkers, one woman stated that Welborn had once said “Do I have to rape all the women here and kill all the men to be head?” In another instance, Welborn reportedly said “wait till my friend comes in here and kills everyone, once they’re all dead, I’ll kill myself.”
It was during that case that Welborn was briefly Baker Acted by police. Despite the interviews and evidence gathered during the investigation, the Clerk of Courts shows that no information was filed and the case was eventually closed.
Welborn was also arrested and charged once with resisting arrest without violence and entered a plea of no contest. In that case, Welborn tried to run from a Volusia County deputy after running a stop sign. The initial charge was for fleeing and eluding, but Welborn was ultimately charged with resisting arrest. After entering a no contest plea, adjudication was withheld and Welborn was placed on probation for one year.
As News Daytona Beach reported on Welborn’s arrest, we made contact with a YouTuber named John who was directly threatened by Welborn. In one video, Welborn talked about stealing from him and stabbing him. Like previous videos made by Welborn, he speaks in a pattern similar to the meter of spoken word poetry, and in some cases, he rhymes.
“(I’ll) wipe your ass away off the map. And I’m going to steal everything you did to me, and I’m going to steal your money. And I’m going to stab you 1,000 times like Scream in my prime. I shine. How’s that for some words?”
He said that during an expletive-laden tirade that included racial and homophobic slurs. In another video, he threatened to find the YouTuber’s address and kill him.
“We’re going to find your address. You hear that? We’re going to find your address and we’re going to kill you. We’re coming. We’re going to make sure the blood spills,” said Welborn, using “we” to refer to his audience.
Welborn’s arrest came after someone reported two videos he had made to the Port Orange Police Department. One video included a threat against Spruce Creek—unknown if it was meant for Spruce Creek Elementary or High—and the other contained a threat against his workplace. A woman can be heard speaking to Welborn in the background of those videos. The woman’s voice is similar to the one also heard in the additional videos provided to News Daytona Beach.
Welborn remains in the Volusia County Jail with no bond.
