CLEARWATER, Fla – Clearwater Police detectives arrested a Largo man late Friday in connection with an incident at Costco at Clearwater Mall earlier in the day.
Donnovan Jester, 31, was charged with 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 referenced a “biological threat” and “explosive device.”
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The store was evacuated of all shoppers and employees for more than three hours.
Police K-9 personnel and hazardous materials crew members from Clearwater Fire & Rescue and surrounding agencies responded to the scene; no evidence of any real threat was found.
Jester was charged with grand theft of a vessel in 2020.
Pinellas County Sheriff’s deputies say Jester stole the 46-foot 2019 Jeanneau Leader with a value of $899,179 in March of 2020.
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According to an arrest report, he cruised off but slammed into four channel-marker pilings and quickly abandoned the boat, leaving it to drift into an oyster bed.
Deputies say they found a left thumbprint on the cabin door that was matched to Jester.
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