A suspect who unleashed street closures, business evacuations and a bomb squad operation on downtown San Rafael was released after pleading Pokemon Go.

The incident began at about 11:45 a.m. Thursday when a witness in an office building reported a suspicious man on the roof of the parking garage behind the Bank of America building. The witness said the man left a black duffel bag on the roof and quickly walked away, said San Rafael police Lt. Alan Piombo.

Police closed Fourth Street to traffic and evacuated the employees from the bank and the businesses and apartments in the Rafael Town Center.

A bomb squad from the University of California arrived at about 1:30 p.m. to examine the bag. The squad sent a robot to the bag and could not make a determination on the contents, so the bomb technicians went in to examine it.

Meanwhile, police contacted a witness who obtained a cellphone photo of the suspect. Then another witness reported that the man from the roof was still in the area.

Police tracked down the man and matched him to the cellphone photo.

“The subject admitted to being on the top of the parking garage playing Pokemon Go, but initially denied any association with the backpack,” Piombo said. “Upon further questions, the subject admitted the backpack belonged to him.”

The man told police he was looking for a place to live and needed a safe place to store his belongings in the meantime.

The bomb squad determined the backpack contained a sleeping bag and clothing.

Piombo said police do not plan to seek charges against the man.

Stephen Mayhall, manager of the Mr. Pickle’s sandwich shop on Court Street, said the store was evacuated for about two hours during lunch. He estimated the lost revenue at several hundred dollars.

“I was more concerned about what was going on,” Mayhall said. “We weren’t able to serve sandwiches at the time, but all in all everyone being safe is better than making a couple of bucks.”