The man had a “suspicious device,” St. Petersburg police said.

ST. PETERSBURG – Police here evacuated businesses and closed one of the county’s busiest intersections for more than three hours Friday (July 21) night after a man was found with a “suspicious looking device” inside a backpack.

The Tampa bomb squad detonated the device, which turned out to be homemade device to make narcotics rather than an explosive.

Now the man who was found with the device has been arrested. Andrew Bryant, 37, a transient, has been charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance, and one count each of carrying a concealed weapon and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Police said an officer was called to the McDonald’s parking lot at 2315 Tyrone Blvd. about 9:20 p.m. for call about a man who had been in a car in the parking lot for five hours. When the officer arrived, the man appeared to be under the influence and he had a suspicious looking device inside a backpack.

In an abundance of caution, officers shut down the Tyrone Boulevard/22nd Avenue N/66th Street intersection and called the bomb squad. They also evacuated nearby restaurants and businesses. The intersection remained closed to traffic from about 9:58 p..m. until 1:30 a.m.

The bomb squad detonated the device on site. No one was injured, police said. They took Bryant to the hospital to be checked out before they charged him.

For information about St. Petersburg police, go to police.stpete.org.

St. Petersburg Police | Crime | Arrests | Bomb Squad | Tyrone Boulevard | McDonalds | Tampa Bay News | TB Reporter

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