Man accused of making bomb threat to Highland Walmart charged

A Highland man could spend up to five years in prison if he’s convicted on the charge that he made a bomb threat Monday night to the Highland Walmart, 12495 Illinois Route 143.

According to Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons’ office, Ryan M. Unger, 19, of the 100 block of Sunset Drive, was charged Wednesday in connection with the threat that forced the evacuation of the store for more than three hours.

Police said Monday that Unger and another male were leaving the store around 7:30 p.m. when another shopper reportedly overheard Unger mention a bomb in the store. While that shopper notified police, another one followed Unger and the other male and took down the license plate number of the car they left in.

Police located the car a short time later just a few blocks from the store and took Unger and his companion into custody. The Illinois Secretary of State’s Police Bomb Squad determined there was no bomb in the store and allowed it to reopen shortly before 11 p.m. The companion was not identified or charged.

Bond for Unger was set at $20,000. A preliminary hearing date has not been set.

This story was originally published July 1, 2015 at 5:21 PM with the headline "Man accused of making bomb threat to Highland Walmart charged."