MORROW, Ga. -- The man who police said told Santa Claus that he had a bomb in his elf suit appeared in court Thursday afternoon.

William C. Caldwell III, 45, faces various charges, including making terroristic threats and reckless conduct.

The Santa Claus at Southlake Mall told CBS Atlanta's Rebekka Schramm that Caldwell got in line the mall Wednesday evening to have his picture taken with Santa.

Santa told Schramm that Caldwell told him that he dynamite in his bag. Morrow police and mall security cleared out Southlake Mall around 6:45 p.m.




"He (Caldwell) stood in line with kids and told Santa he wanted like a picture taken with him, at that point he told Santa he had dynamite in his bag," said Morrow police Capt. James Callaway.

Marlon Gunter said he was shopping for a new pair of shoes when it happened.

"They said bomb. I just heard bomb! When I heard the b-word, I just dipped, seriously," said Gunter.

Caldwell lives in an apartment complex a mile or two from the mall.

"This is definitely a surprise to me. I would have never thought he would went up there and said no stuff like that," said his neighbor Jerome Bryant.

Bryant said it's obvious Caldwell is mentally unstable. Bryant showed us the belongings Caldwell apparently hoards, some of which he keeps on his back porch.

The elf costume didn't come as a surprise to Bryant.

"He walks around all day with costumes on, like different - one day, he might be a king. The next day, I don't know, he's always got a cape on or something. He just walks around. But he's never been unpleasant. He's a good guy,” said Bryant.

Mall employee Brittany Williams said she was standing next to the elf when police arrested Caldwell.

"He was saying bomb! He was saying bomb, he got a bomb and he was going to blow Southlake up," said Williams.

Williams said it happened right in front of her job and this particular elf was not with the mall's Santa and his crew.

"He was just dressed up, he had a trench coat on -- on top of everything," said Williams.

Michael McPhearson said he was working when he heard people screaming and saw them running.

"I ain't never seen a whole mall evacuated at one time like that," said McPhearson. "All they told us to do is run so we ran. I was scared, I mean you never know what's going to happen."

Police evacuated Southlake mall and it remained closed the rest of the night. The Georgia Bureau of Investigations and Morrow police bomb squad units searched the mall but did not find any explosives.

Caldwell's neighbor Jerome Bryant said Caldwell often wears a variety of costumes. "Every day he’s got on a different costume. I’ve never seen him without one. I’ve never seen him in regular clothes ever,” said Bryant.

A Clayton County Magistrate judge denied bond for Caldwell. Morrow police have banned him from Southlake Mall for 50 years.

CBS Atlanta has confirmed that Caldwell has been getting help for mental health issues for many years. He is employed as a janitor at Ft. Gillem.