Suspect pleads not guilty to Walmart bomb threat
Published 12:06 pm Friday, August 26, 2016
By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor
COLUMBIANA – A 26-year-old Alabaster man is set to appear in Shelby County Circuit Court in early October after he was indicted on and pleaded not guilty to a terrorist threat charge tied to a 2015 bomb threat at the Alabaster Walmart.
A Shelby County grand jury returned a one-count indictment against Cordera Montez Swift, who lists an address on Fifth Avenue Southeast in Alabaster, in May, upholding a terrorist threat charge against him.
Making a terrorist threat is a Class C felony, according to Alabama law, and carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison upon conviction.
The Alabaster Police Department arrested Swift the same day the Alabaster police and fire departments responded to a call reporting bomb threat at the Walmart store in the Propst Promenade at 11:37 a.m. on Aug. 20, 2015.
“Officers arrived on scene and began implementing our standard safety protocol for this type of incident,” read an Alabaster Police Department statement issued at the time of Swift’s arrest. “After conducting a thorough search of the area, the scene was determined to be safe and Walmart resumed normal business.”
The incident caused an evacuation of the store, according to Swift’s arrest warrant. No injuries were reported in the incident.
According to Swift’s indictment, he allegedly placed a note in the soap dispenser in the Walmart men’s restroom reading “Walmart bomb threat 12:00, do not touch,” prompting the evacuation.
He has pleaded not guilty to the crime, and is now set to appear in court in Columbiana for a status call on Oct. 3 at 8:30 a.m.
He has been out of jail since posting a $15,000 bond on Aug. 22.