Cops: Boca Man Overturned Tables at Barnes and Noble, ‘Wanted to Go To Jail’

Shawn Bivins (Photo: Palm Beach County Jail)

A Boca Raton man who police suspect may be homeless has been arrested and charged with a disturbing incident at the city’s Barnes and Noble bookstore, where he allegedly overturned tables twice in a matter of 15 minutes while customers were present.

The man, identified as Shawn Bivins, 38, entered the store on Glades Road at about 3 p.m. Wednesday, according to a police report. He immediately “began flipping over display tables filled with books” before exiting, the report stated. Security footage showed him returning 15 minutes later, at which point he is alleged to have pulled down a display table in the vestibule before exiting the store for a second time.

When police arrived, they found Bivins sleeping on a bench outside the store. He “admitted to damaging the property and stated he did so intentionally because he is homeless and wanted to go to jail to receive meals and a hot shower.”

He is accused of destroying two display tables, a vestibule table and 10 books, totaling $1,256 in damage. He is charged with felony criminal mischief resulting in property damage more than $1,000. He was being held in the Palm Beach County Jail in lieu of $3,000 bail, which was reduced from an initial $5,000 bail requirement.