Deputies said a retail theft call in Martin County turned dangerous when a suspect barricaded himself in a restaurant bathroom and threatened to harm himself with a homemade device.
Hugh Alexander Okoye, 36, a transient from West Palm Beach, was initially caught stealing merchandise at a Publix grocery store, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said. However, after causing a disturbance at the store, Okoye left and entered a nearby Panera Bread.
Inside the restaurant, Okoye’s behavior became increasingly alarming, deputies said, when he locked himself inside a bathroom stall and resisted deputies’ commands. Investigators said during the incident, Okoye placed a makeshift device containing a shotgun shell inside brass tubing into his mouth and attempted to ignite it with a lighter…