Man arrested after fake bomb threat

Deputies say a pharmacy robber fashioned a phony bomb out of cardboard tubes and demanded a bottle of oxycodone.

Shortly before noon Thursday, a man entered Suncoast Vital Care Pharmacy at 5330 Spring Hill Drive, displayed the device that was strapped to his chest and fled the business on foot, according to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office.

A few minutes prior to the robbery, a witness called the sheriff's office about a suspicious person on a silver motorcycle who was "driving in and out of the parking lot" in front of the business next door, deputies said.

Authorities responded at 12:07 p.m., and observed a motorcycle matching the description parked in front of a nearby 7-Eleven store. They found the suspect hiding inside the store's bathroom, according to a media release.

Troy Anderson, 29, was charged with robbery with a deadly weapon, possession of a hoax bomb during the commission of a felony and trafficking oxycodone. His bond was set at $200,000.

Anderson had the fake bomb underneath a jacket with a long wick hanging out, deputies said.

He pulled out a lighter and told the pharmacist he would "blow us all up," according to an arrest affidavit.

The pharmacist knew Anderson by name because he had been a previous customer, deputies said.

Authorities discovered a hypodermic needle containing a "blue liquid substance" stuffed inside a trash can at the 7-Eleven. They also found a jacket and some fireworks bound together with a long wick, deputies said.

The oxycodone pills were in Anderson's pants pocket when he was arrested, according to the affidavit.

He admitted to making the hoax bomb, threatening the pharmacist, demanding the oxycodone and dissolving four of the pills into water with the intent of injecting them, deputies said.