Deputies prevent potential disaster in Panera bathroom
By Ari Hait
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STUART, Florida (WPBF) — A shoplifting incident in Stuart escalated into a potentially dangerous situation when Martin County deputies discovered a suspect attempting to ignite a shotgun slug in a Panera bathroom Thursday afternoon.
Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said deputies initially believed they were arresting a shoplifting suspect, but the situation quickly escalated.
“They had no idea what they were dealing with until our suspect was in custody,” Budensiek said.
The sheriff said the incident began when staff at a Publix in Stuart caught Hugh Okoye shoplifting.
“He was aggressive towards them, meaning he was confrontational,” Budensiek said. “He didn’t fight with them, but he was confrontational. He was swearing.”
Okoye then left the store, walked to a nearby Panera, and entered the bathroom, screaming at people along the way.
Deputies found Okoye in the bathroom shortly after.
Initially, they thought he was smoking drugs, but they soon realized that what was in his mouth was a 12-gauge shotgun slug.
He was using a lighter to try to make the slug fire.
“To their surprise, they realized that what the suspect was actually doing was trying to set off a 12-gauge shotgun slug,” Budensiek said. “It rarely happens, but bullets actually can fire if they’re exposed to enough heat and fire. We see that in car fires with rounds going off.”
Fortunately, deputies intervened before any harm occurred, taking Okoye into custody and confiscating two shotgun slugs.
“This could have ended catastrophically. A shotgun round, a slug round could penetrate the suspect, could penetrate our deputies,” Budensiek said.
Okoye now faces several charges, including resisting arrest. The sheriff also mentioned plans to seek mental health assistance for Okoye.
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