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Man Sets Off Firework in Casino Bathroom After Liquor Theft Attempt

A liquor theft took a chaotic turn when the suspect detonated a firework in a casino bathroom. Staff escaped serious harm—but the story gets even stranger.

The image shows the entrance to a casino with a sign that reads "Casino" at the top of the image....
The image shows the entrance to a casino with a sign that reads "Casino" at the top of the image. There are a few people standing in front of the entrance, and the ceiling is adorned with lights. The floor is visible at the bottom of the picture, and there is a watermark in the bottom right corner.

Man Sets Off Firework in Casino Bathroom After Liquor Theft Attempt

One casino visitor-or rather, a trespasser-came up with the strangest plan to mask his escape after he tried stealing liquor worth as much as $4,000 from the Rivers Casino Pittsburgh.

The man, one Jeremy Allen Hartman, was apprehended by casino staff, but security on-site had little idea that Hartman had come prepared.

While being escorted to the detention room, he asked the staffers if they would let him use the restroom. The staff obliged, and all chaos eventuated shortly after.

As it turned out, the man had a commercial-grade firework on his person, and he lit it up in the restroom, throwing it into the toilet, which then caused an explosion that led to bodily injuries, although nobody was seriously hurt in the end.

The man was apprehended despite his daring attempt to use fireworks as a distraction. Shortly after the accident, medics offered on-site treatment to injured staff, and the Pittsburgh Police Bomb Squad was dispatched to the scene to check for more explosive devices after Hartman's vehicle was found in the casino's parking lot with a lot of fireworks.

All told, this is one of the strangest cases involving a person at a casino trying to steal, of all things, liquor and ending up using fireworks to try and create confusion to mask his escape.

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