Man Charged After Dickson City Bomb Investigation

At 10:07 Dickson City Police were dispatched to Target for a suspicious male in the cafe area. The male was in the store off and on for past 3 days wandering aimlessly with a backpack according to store employees. Management told police that the male would not speak to or acknowledge anyone.

Police approached the male. The male stared at the wall, not acknowledging anyone's presence. Police asked him to leave, however he remained seated.

Police asked for his identification. The male pulled a ziploc baggie containing his ID from his back pocket. His phone rang, which he did not answer. According to police, a timer was on the phone counting down from one minute.

Police identified the male as 61 year old Troy Simon. Simon was taken in to custody. Police confirmed Simon had taken a vow of silence. Simon was initially arrested for defiant trespass and terroristic threats.

Target was evacuated. The Scranton bomb squad and Lackawanna County Sheriff k9 were called in.

The backpack and phone were left behind in the cafe area due to the capability of IEDs to detonate remotely. All radio frequencies were stopped by police due to frequencies possibly detonating IEDs.

Simon gave consent to searches. On him, two knives were found. In the  backpack, two knives, a Laptop, and a tablet were found. No bomb was found. Due to items in the car, poilice believe Simon was living in his car in the parking lot.

Simon's wife told police she is afraid of Simon. She currently has a PFA on him. He was evicted from their home. He had threatened to kill her.

The investigation is continuing at this time. Stores reopened around 2pm. Simon remains in custody.