All-clear given at Corona gas station following bomb threat

CORONA, Calif. (KABC) -- A man was taken into custody Tuesday morning after he parked his car at a Corona gas station and told the clerk he had a bomb, prompting a police response and several traffic closures.

The incident began shortly after 8:30 a.m. when a customer told ARCO AM/PM manager Judy Nava that he saw a man frantically pulling his car apart. Nava says she went to see what was going on.

"He told me, 'You better call 911 cause I have a bomb in my car," Nava said, adding that she then froze.

She called 911, told customers at the pumps to leave and hit the emergency fuel shut-off.

The suspect then walked inside the store in the 1400 block of E. Ontario Avenue, demanding Nava call police.

The man, later identified as 31-year-old Gentry Lee Goode, allegedly told her that he had multiple bombs in his car.

"The vehicle was parked next to the gas pumps so as you can imagine the fuel, the possibility of a bomb," Corona police Sgt. Paul Mercado said. "We had to shut down all the roadways in and out of this area."

The clerk provided police with a suspect description and Goode was detained without incident.

The area near the gas station was cordoned off, but no evacuation orders were issued.

The Riverside County sheriff's Hazardous Devices Team used a robot to search Goode's car for about two hours. No bombs or explosive-making devices were found.

Ontario Avenue and Taber Street were temporarily closed at California and Compton avenues. The Interstate 15 on- and off-ramps were also closed at Ontario Avenue.

Goode was arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance and later transported to the Riverside County Medical Center-Emergency Treatment Services for a 72-hour mental evaluation.