Several police units, a member of the bomb squad, members of the County Sheriff’s Department, the Fire Department and EMS were all dispatched to the scene of a bomb threat at a dollar store on the eastside.
The threat was called in to police by a white male who said there was a bomb in the store and then laughed and hung up. The call was believed to have been made from a pay phone about 20 feet from the store.
Officers who first arrived on the scene blocked off foot and vehicle traffic, establishing a safe zone around the perimeter. A member of the bomb squad donned full protective equipment, entered the store, and told the manager that a bomb threat had been received at the location. The building was evacuated and a search of the premises was conducted. None of the store employees said they noticed any suspicious activity earlier in the day.
A bomb sniffing dog arrived and checked the premises again, but found nothing. The store manager mentioned a suspicious looking white male who had been in the store earlier in the day, dressed all in black. He was identified on store surveillance cameras. Forensics came and processed the pay phone.
• Three young men told police that they were robbed at gunpoint after visiting some friends. They had been at a nightclub together and then had gone to visit some friends in Yamacraw. As they were leaving the apartment, several men approached them, and one asked for a cigarette. The victims said no, and then one of the men pulled out a sawed- off shotgun and said, “give me all your stuff and get on the ground.”
In total, the suspects took two cell phones, two wallets and three pairs of sneakers. They were told to stay facing the ground, and if they looked up they would be shot. The suspects also took one man’s car keys and then drove off in his car. None of the men would identify the young woman they’d been reportedly visiting.
• A woman called the police to report that she had been receiving harassing phone calls from an unknown person. She told officers that she first received a call in January, that the caller said nothing, and then sent her a nude picture message via cell phone. The day before she called the police, she’d received another picture message with a picture of male genitalia. Officers gave her a CRN card.
• An officer was dispatched for a public service call to check on an elderly gentleman. Police were called by a representative of the landlord, who said that the man was late paying rent, which was unusual. He’d made several attempts to contact him, and then stopped by to discover that the mailbox was full of mail and no one answered the door. None of the neighbors had seen the man in two to three weeks. They were concerned because the missing man was elderly and diabetic. He also does not have a steady job, so he would usually be home during the day. The officer knocked on the front door and checked the knob, but it was locked. He went around to the back and found the door was unlocked. He entered the residence and began to check the rooms. The elderly fellow wasn’t there, but the officer noted that a diabetes test kit and syringes were sitting on the coffee table. It raised concern because the man would probably keep them with him. A neighbor who lived across the street said that she’d seen the man get into a cab one afternoon about two weeks prior, but had not seen him since.
