INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The Indian River County Sheriff’s Office including the Saint Lucie County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad responded to the 100 block of 21st Avenue after a call that reported a suspicious device left on her kitchen counter by her husband, according to the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office.
On Nov. 7 around 9 p.m., deputies responded to a 911 call regarding a suspicious device in the home. The caller noted that she and her husband were going through a divorce.
The suspect was identified as 51-year-old Vero Beach resident Randolph Troy Smith, according to authorities.
Responding deputies found a gray pipe with a wire protruding from one end on the kitchen counter. There were several hand written notes laying on the counter with the device.
One of the notes read, “This is a [sic] explosive. Its [sic] a bomb,” according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The residence was cleared of all occupants and the Saint Lucie County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad responded. The device was determined to be a hoax and did not contain any explosives, according to authorities.
Deputies began to search for Smith and it was reported that he had previously frequented the former makeshift homeless camps in the wooded area near the 5500 block of State Road 60.
Based in part on the suspect’s description including long gray hair and a beard, a camo-style shirt, and traveling on a bicycle, Deputy Scott Sposoto located Smith near the Burger King restaurant at 58th Avenue and S.R. 60 at approximately 10:15 p.m.
Smith initially refused Deputy Sposato’s orders to comply with the arrest but was taken into custody. Smith later told detectives that he left the hoax bomb and notes on the counter as he was angry with his wife, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Smith was arrested and faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, planting a hoax bomb, and resisting arrest without violence. He is being held in the Indian River County Jail on $11,000 bond.
