Man arrested after bag causes scare at store

Associated Press

MENTOR

A homeless man from southwest Ohio was arrested and charged with inducing panic after a bomb squad was called to investigate a suitcase he allegedly abandoned outside a bookstore in Mentor, police said Saturday.

The three-hour scene caused a scare for Christmas Eve shoppers, but it turned out the bag wasn’t a threat.

A shopper reported the suspicious bag around 8 a.m. Saturday outside a Barnes & Noble bookstore near the Great Lakes Mall in Mentor, police Lt. Ken Zbiegien said. Officers temporarily evacuated the store and used a robotic device to determine the bag contained nothing hazardous.

As authorities were investigating, they learned that mall security had spotted a man in the area Friday night with a blue suitcase, matching the description of the one left at the bookstore. Authorities found the man in a different area of the mall property, and he acknowledged the bag was his, Zbiegien said.

The 44-year-old Mason man told police he is homeless and had taken a bus from Cincinnati to Cleveland, where he was staying at a mission or shelter, Zbiegien said.