Four suspicious devices found in Highlands County Copyright by WFLA - All rights reserved Police identified the suspect as Anthony Thomas Cauley age 30. Jail booking photo [ + - ] Video

SEBRING, Fla. (WFLA) -- It started as a call about a burglary and a suspicious package on Wednesday. Sebring police learned about a man in the woods carrying a backpack.

Bomb squad members detonated the contents of that backpack. The bomb squad removed four suspicious devices that prompted the evacuation of two Highlands County businesses shortly after 10 a.m.

At the Newsome Eye Center, deputies found a Molotov cocktail left in a mechanical room. "These devices could have caused damage to people, facilities. It's clearly a very serious threat," Highlands County Sheriff Susan Benton said.

Authorities took a suspect into custody outside a Denny's, 4390 US Highway 27. Investigators say Anthony Thomas Cauley, 30, had three sealed pieces of PVC pipe in his possession when he was found. Empty shell casings with gun powder residue were also recovered. Cauley has a history of arrests for DUI, battery and stalking. He has served two stints in prison.

Copyright by WFLA - All rights reserved

Workers at the eye center, wearing their blue scrubs, joined customers to watch investigators as they looked for more bombs. "All of a sudden, somebody told us, 'You need to get out of the building. Just go,'" said Kathy Plante, an eye center patient.

Amir Becker works at a nearby Gyro Plus and was amazed at what happened. "I come here, and then all of a sudden there's a bomb threat and there's this and that and a bunch of people out here. It's crazy to know that something like this could happen here. It's a small county, small town," Becker said.

A Sebring Police Department spokesperson said Cauley had been making threats directed at the eye business. Police do not yet know why the clinic was targeted or why Cauley had additional devices on him.

"I'm not sure exactly why. I don't know if there's any rhyme or reason. The gentleman has been here a couple of times. Isolated incidents. There's no connection to anyone in the building that we're aware of or anywhere else in town. The gentleman just seems to be very unstable, Sebring Police Chief Tom Dettman said.

At Cauley's home, just a mile away, police searched inside. Neighbors wondered how this could happen. "I think that's the scariest thing anybody could do, especially in a small town like this. This is something that's out of the ordinary for here," Cathy Latta said.

Another neighbor said it's unlike "Tony" to act like this. "The boy next door to me, I mean, he's troubled, but he's not a bad boy. He's just troubled," Jo Caruso said.

Police plan to look at video from several cameras to trace Cauley's steps. Cauley is charged with grand theft auto. The sheriff told News Channel 8 the suspect stole his grandmother's car. Inside the car, police found more evidence of bomb making.