Suspect Arrested After Bomb Claim, Attempted Robbery at North Knoxville Taco Bell

A North Knoxville Taco Bell briefly went into lockdown after police said a man walked in with a baseball bat, ran into the restaurant office and made a bomb claim before officers took him into custody. Authorities identified the suspect as 28-year-old Shoan Labeaux, who was booked into the Knox County Jail on multiple charges.

Police said they were dispatched after receiving a panic alarm at around 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, and that several callers reported "an irate man in the store who may be intoxicated and was armed with a baseball bat." Officers arrived at the Taco Bell on Merchant Drive in North Knoxville following the alarm and the calls, according to arrest paperwork.

The warrant documents say Labeaux "ran straight into the office" of the Taco Bell and locked himself inside while officers heard items being thrown and the suspect saying, "Oh, the safe is in here," followed by other statements about taking the money. The arrest paperwork records the suspect repeatedly making statements such as "Get back or I'm going to call the police," and "Get back! I have a bomb and I'll blow this b\\\\."

While speaking with the man through the office door, the warrant states Labeaux asked officers to slide their badge under the door. An officer "eventually took a poster off a window to the office to show him they were in fact law enforcement," the documents say. When Labeaux opened the door, police reported he had "taken off all his clothes," was "sweating" and was behaving "erratically."

Officers say Labeaux attempted to flee as they were taking him into custody and slipped on the "slick kitchen floors" during that attempt. Arrest paperwork describes him as "uncooperative" while being placed into the patrol car, kicking the ceiling and the glass partition, before deputies completed the arrest and transport to Knox County Jail.

A search of Labeaux after his arrest turned up a knife, a gold chain, several pens and markers, and a debit card, the paperwork states. Police returned the items described as stolen to the manager on duty, according to the arrest documents. Labeaux faces charges of aggravated robbery, evading arrest, disorderly conduct and public intoxication.

Knox County booking records list bail totaling $20,500, with the roster showing bond set at $20,000 on the aggravated-robbery warrant and $500 on the evading warrant for a combined $20,500. The online roster also lists court dates later this month. Authorities did not report recovering any explosive device after the suspect's statements, and sources in the arrest paperwork attribute the bomb claim to Labeaux's own words rather than any confirmed threat.