A 37-year-old Florida man, Timothy Aviles, is accused of making a bomb threat at a Home Depot in Cutler Bay. Allegedly, he claimed to have the explosive device in his backpack, but authorities only found Tide bottles instead.
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According to a criminal complaint obtained by Law & Crime, the incident occurred on Wednesday, October 8. At around 3:50 p.m., a loss prevention officer working at the Home Depot located on SW 106th Avenue noticed a shoplifter allegedly concealing items on his person and on his backpack.
The officer witnessed the shoplifter, later identified as Aviles, going past all points of sale and exiting the store, the complaint said. Then, the loss prevention officer approached Aviles and identified himself.
Allegedly, Aviles dropped his backpack and told the officer that he had a bomb in his backpack. Then, he added that “it could explode at any time,” the complaint said.
Fake Bomb
According to the police, Aviles then asked the officer, “Can you smell it?” and proceeded to pull out a pack of lighters.
“Fearing that the individual was going to use the lighters to ignite the device, the loss prevention officer took the lighters from the individual,” the complaint said.
The officer contacted an off-duty Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputy working at the business and informed him of the situation. As the deputy was detaining Aviles, the latter allegedly claimed he had a bomb in his backpack.
Immediately, the Home Depot was evacuated, and the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office bomb squad responded to the scene. The bomb squad evaluated the contents of the backpack, but they didn’t find any explosive material. As per the complaint, they only found two Tide detergent bottles.
An investigator interviewed the loss prevention officer. He allegedly said he saw Aviles placing the bottles in his backpack and the lighters in his pants. In total, Aviles is accused of stealing $25 worth of items.
Timothy Aviles, who had previous petty theft convictions, refused to speak with investigators, the complaint said. He is charged with one count of making a false report about placing a bomb or explosive and one count of petty theft. His bond was set at $7,500, and he was ordered to stay away from Home Depot.