Man charged with making multiple bomb threats to Midlands business, SC police say

A man who made multiple bomb threats for more than a year to a business in the Midlands was arrested, the Sumter Police Department said.

Antwan Cleveland Alexander was taken into custody Sept. 28, police said in a news release. The 24-year-old Bethune resident was charged with six counts of making a bomb threat, according to the release.

Officers linked Alexander to two bomb threats called in to Sitel Corp. during business hours Sept. 27 and 28, as well as two threats made earlier in September, and another issued in September 2021, police said.

Alexander was described as a disgruntled Sitel employee, according to the release. The business, formerly Sykes Enterprises Inc. before being acquired by Sitel, is in the Sumter Mall. That’s on Broad Street, in an area densely packed with retail businesses and restaurants.

There was no word on what Alexander did for Sitel — which is essentially a call center that provides outsourced sales, technical support, customer service to companies — or why he was unhappy with his job.

Information about how police connected Alexander to the bomb threats was not available.

In response to each call where a threat was made, the business had to be evacuated as first responders searched for bombs and assessed if the threats were credible, police said.

Additionally, business and travel in the Broad and Rast streets, Bultman Drive and Wesmark Boulevard area were also disrupted, according to the release. Similar hoaxes can cost taxpayers thousands in manpower hours while diverting resources from other law enforcement activities.

There were no reports of destructive devices being discovered after any of the threats.

Despite the charges against Alexander, the investigation is ongoing, police said.

Bond was set at $100,000 and GPS monitoring was ordered by the judge, according to the release.

If convicted, Alexander faces a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison on each charge, police said.