Man Who Caused Christmas Eve Bomb Scare Sentenced To Jail

The man who is accused of causing a bomb scare Christmas Eve morning outside of the Great Lakes Mall was sentenced to 180 days in jail Thursday in , though he will get credit for 27 days he has already served.

Kevin Striley, 43, had to obstructing official business and attempting to induce panic.

Judge John Trebets also ordered Striley to undergo a mental health evaluation.

Striley was arrested after his outside of on Christmas Eve morning.

Striley used to live in Mason, OH, but he is now homeless, Mentor Police Lt. Ken Zbiegien said at the time of Striley's arrest.

He left his suitcase outside of the bookstore Friday night. When asked why he left the suitcase, he told police, "(I) was tired of carrying it," Zbiegien said.

A passerby saw the suitcase, thought it was suspicious and called the police.

When police asked Striley what was inside of the suitcase, he refused to tell them. Consequently, police called in the Lake County Bomb Squad in case the suitcase contained explosives.

For three hours, authorities cordoned the area around Barnes & Noble and while they assessed the situation. The bomb squad ultimately decided to have its bomb robot fire two shotgun shells into the suitcase while everyone was a safe distance away from it.

After ascertaining it wasn't a bomb, authorities found the suitcase only contained personal affects, including a silk tie, a few rare coins, a Kodak camera and some other trinkets.