CENTRAL — Central police have made arrests in two separate cases, one involving two bomb threats issued to Wal-Mart and another involving a shoplifting at the supercenter and subsequent escape attempt.

On Wednesday, Bobby Joe Laporte, 20, of Liberty, was charged with calling in bomb threats to Wal-Mart on April 21 and June 5. He was released on a $20,000 personal recognizance bond.

Police say upon arriving at the supercenter June 5, an officer noticed that all store employees and customers had been evacuated from the building. An assistant manager told police that the caller, whose voice he described as that of a young white male, made the bomb threat at 10:38 a.m. and hung up the phone.

The assistant manager added that an ex-employee, identifying himself as LaPorte, called at 10:42 a.m. — approximately four minutes later — and asked to speak to one of the cart pushers. The voices from both calls were described as sounding the same.

According to the incident report, Central Police Chief Kerry Avery contacted the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office and requested a bomb dog. Deputy Jim Stokes, accompanied by the dog, arrived at the scene at approximately 11:45 a.m. and declared the building to be safe after conducting a sweep of the premises.

Following the sweep, store personnel and customers re-entered the building and normal operations resumed. Store management reported a similar incident to police on April 21.

A separate arrest involving the supercenter occurred when Central police initially took Ellen Carol Eubanks, 29, of Central, into custody Tuesday for shoplifting and trespass after notice.

According to the incident report, Eubanks had been seen placing a can of beer in her purse and the Loss Prevention Officer recognized her from a prior shoplifting incident and was also aware of her being on trespass notice. She was then arrested and transported to the Central Police Department for booking procedures.

The report stated that when the officer stepped down the hall to provide a booking sheet so that warrants and bond paperwork could proceed, Eubanks ran out the back door of the police department. Chief Avery, Detective Khristy Justice and an officer began searching the area for Eubanks and obtained assistance from Clemson police and the Pickens County Sheriff’s units.

After her escape, the report states Eubanks flagged down a vehicle and asked for a ride to Wal-Mart where her vehicle was parked. After getting a ride to her car, Eubanks drove to a bank to deposit money into her account and then proceeded to an ABC store where she purchased a 200 milliliter bottle of vodka. She then drove to the area behind Wendy’s in Clemson, off of U.S. Highway 123.

Pickens County units spoke to Eubanks’ boyfriend, who was at her residence, to seek his assistance in getting her to turn herself in. The boyfriend spoke to Eubanks, who told him she was at a park.

Eubanks was later arrested and returned to the Central Police Department, where the booking process was completed. She was placed at the Pickens County Law Enforcement Center on a $15,700 surety bond.