A Virginia man who threatened in Facebook messages to shoot and kill Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey will be barred from social media during five years of supervised probation. JACOB A. DEVAN, 21, also must work 100 volunteer hours at an animal shelter under a plea agreement approved by the sheriff.

At a May 21 hearing, Devan avoided trial and a possible prison sentence by pleading no-contest to one count of making written or electronic threats to kill and one count of unlawful use of a two-way communication device.

Circuit Judge Steve Henderson pronounced Devan guilty of the two felony charges, prohibiting him from owning firearms in Florida and Virginia. Devan also must complete an anger-management course. He may serve his probation in Virginia.

“If you’re thinking of doing something, you’ll be riding here in a van, shackled – it’s no fun,” Henderson warned Devan.

Evidence prepared by prosecutors included eight threatening Facebook instant messages sent to Ivey from Devan’s account on June 14, 2025. Among them:

“I will kill you and your family.” 

“I’ll shoot you till you won’t breathe anymore.”

“I know where you live.”

The Sheriff’s Office obtained an arrest warrant on June 16, and Devan’s mother drove him from the Washington, DC suburbs to Brevard County to turn himself in at the jail. The mother said Devan had been upset by comments the sheriff made during a press conference but was ready to take responsibility for his threats. He was later released on $150,000 bond to await trial.