State police charged a Pottsville man with terroristic threats and other offenses after he reportedly went into the Turkey Hill in Port Carbon with a pellet gun and later waved it around in front of people outside the store.
Meade Roosevelt Bailey, 53, was charged in connection with the May 20 incident at Turkey Hill at 216 Pike St., where police were dispatched for a report of a man waving a handgun around in the parking lot.
Police detained Bailey outside his residence near the borough, and he denied being at the Turkey Hill earlier.
Police spoke to five victims involved in the incident. One victim told them the suspect walked into the store with the gun in his hand and grabbed a few items for sale, then put the gun on the counter. She refused to serve the suspect, and he left the store, police said.
Another victim said he saw Bailey walking around with a gun outside and confronted him to check if he was OK. The defendant became irritated and yelled as he waved the gun around, according to police.
The other three victims said they witnessed the man talk to the suspect, and they stayed behind their vehicles when they saw him wave his gun around, police said.
All five victims said they thought the handgun was real and they were in fear for their lives, police said.
Police said video surveillance footage from Turkey Hill showed the suspect walking into the store and putting the gun on the counter.
When interviewed by police, Bailey told them the weapon he had been carrying was a pellet gun, according to the police report.
Police said they executed a search warrant at the suspect’s residence and found a gun that matched the description of the weapon he was carrying in the store. It was confirmed to be a pellet handgun, and was seized and placed into evidence, police said.
Bailey was charged with five misdemeanor counts each of terroristic threats, reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct.
A preliminary arraignment is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Aug. 19 before Magisterial District Judge David A. Plachko in Port Carbon.