Photo: Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - A Walmart customer accidentally left his phone in the bathroom, and the person who found it allegedly used it to call in a fake bomb threat to the store, according to deputies.
Coty Clements, 28, was arrested and now faces a felony charge of false report about planting bomb or weapon of mass destruction after the incident that unfolded at the Neighborhood Walmart at 2150 Tamiami Trail in Port Charlotte on Jan. 12, according to the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies responded to the store in reference to a bomb threat received via 911 call just before 3 p.m. The dispatcher said someone said there was a bomb inside the Walmart before hanging up the phone. When the dispatcher tried to call back, the suspect picked up the phone and said "Tick tock, tick tock" before hanging up again, according to a press release.
As deputies searched the area, they made contact with the owner of the phone who said he accidentally left it inside a restroom stall. Walmart security footage showed the phone's owner walking in and out of the bathroom before the 911 call was placed, deputies said.
A man, later identified as Clements, was seen entering the bathroom after the phone's owner had left. The 911 call was made during this time, deputies said. Clements was then seen on surveillance footage leaving the store, but deputies were able to locate him when he reentered the Walmart.
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He was detained and questioned, and ultimately confessed to placing the 911 call about the fake bomb threat, according to deputies. Clements also said he saw people making similar calls on TikTok.
Clements was arrested and transported to the Charlotte County Jail. He has since been released after posting $15,000 bond. Clements is scheduled to appear in court in February.
"Threats of any kind will not be tolerated in Charlotte County, and for this individual, I believe he learned that lesson promptly. Thankfully there was no actual threat to the public, but I want to commend the quick responses of my dispatchers as well as the deputies in ensuring the safety of the scene and in locating this suspect," Sheriff Bill Prummell said in a news release.