<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Charges have been withdrawn against a man whose duct-taped camouflage vest caused a </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/bombing" rel="" target="" title="bomb"><span>bomb</span></a><span> scare during a vigil for the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/bondi-shooting" rel="" target="" title="Bondi mass shooting"><span>Bondi mass shooting</span></a><span> victims.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Cleophias Machaya, 34, had been charged with offensive behaviour in a public place after </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/police" rel="" target="" title="police"><span>police</span></a><span> received a Triple-Zero call from someone in </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/bondi" rel="" target="" title="Bondi Junction"><span>Bondi Junction</span></a><span> in Sydney's east.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/victoria" rel="" target="" title="Victorian"><span>Victorian</span></a><span> man had been out walking while wearing a black puffer jacket and a weighted camouflage vest with silver gaffer tape around the bottom just after 10pm on January 11.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/fbi-search-highways-to-find-missing-nancy-guthrie/886e3449-4d42-4343-b527-a42df333ce15" target="_blank"><strong><span>FBI searches highways in Nancy Guthrie search as man detained in case released</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On that same evening, thousands had gathered with a heavy police presence on nearby Bondi Beach to commemorate the 15 people killed when two gunmen opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration in mid-December.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Officers approached Machaya and searched him for explosives.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The vest was X-rayed and cut open to confirm what was inside," the police facts said.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/charges-dropped-after-vest-caused-bondi-bomb-scare/dd2bc015-7afc-43e6-b416-dd5df9491cee" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"No explosive material was located."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Instead, officers found a gold vape, a credit card and a set of car keys.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Machaya told police he wore the vest as an exercise aid while walking, and he had been training for the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/ufc" rel="" target="" title="Ultimate Fighting Championship"><span>Ultimate Fighting Championship</span></a><span> mixed martial arts competition.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/paramedics" rel="" target="" title="Paramedics"><span>Paramedics</span></a><span> attended the scene, but cleared the 34-year-old after a mental health assessment.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In his black LDV van, police located a second weighted vest, a GoPro camera, two mobile phones and a tin containing five grams of cannabis leaf.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On Tuesday, the offensive behaviour charge and another charge of providing false information to police were withdrawn.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Machaya was found guilty of possessing a prohibited drug but was not convicted.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>During a </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/courts" rel="" target="" title="bail hearing"><span>bail hearing</span></a><span> in January, the Victorian man sobbed and shook his head.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I just made a mistake," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all 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