Bomb Threat Causes Evacuation Of Clearwater Costco; Man Arrested

CLEARWATER, FL — Clearwater police detectives arrested a Largo man late Friday for falsely reporting a bomb threat at Costco at Clearwater Mall earlier in the day.

Donnovan Jester, 31, was charged with making a false report of a bomb and booked into the Pinellas County Jail.

The incident began just before 1:30 p.m. Friday when a suspicious envelope was found inside the store. A note inside the envelope referred to a "biological threat" and "explosive device."

The store was evacuated for more than three hours while police K-9s and hazardous materials crew members from the Clearwater Fire & Rescue Department and surrounding agencies responded to the scene.

No evidence of any threat was found.