The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office bomb squad determined that a suspicious briefcase in the Scotts Valley Market parking lot was empty this morning.
The briefcase was reported to Scotts Valley Police at 7:20 a.m. on Monday morning by a woman who was going to Starbucks. The brown briefcase was sitting by itself in the middle of the Market’s parking lot.
Police evacuated the lot and called in the Sheriff’s Bomb Squad which used a robot to X-ray the briefcase and determined there was nothing inside.
The parking lot was re-opened at about 10:30 a.m. Businesses had the option of remaining open during the operation.
“We’re always going to err on the side of caution,” Scotts Valley Police Lt. John Wilson said.
