After several downtown businesses had their windows shattered early Friday, police are asking the public for help in apprehending the culprit.

The windows of at least five businesses from Broughton Street to Russell Street were damaged, possibly by a BB gun, police say.

The first call came in at around 6:30 a.m. when police responded to an alarm at Ballard's Auto Parts store on John C. Calhoun Drive. The glass to the front door had been broken out. A key-holder arrived and told police it appeared nothing was missing from the business.

At about the same time, police patrolling Russell Street found that windows had also been broken at two SCB&T facilities. One of these appeared to be damage from a BB gun, according to the report.

At 7 a.m., employees at Covington Credit on Broughton Street discovered a window at their business was shattered.

Thirty minutes later, Orangeburg Furniture Exchange employees called police concerning their front window, which had also been damaged.

Damage to the five businesses is estimated to be more than $3,000.

Anyone with any information regarding the damaged windows is asked to contact Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIMESC or ODPS at 803-534-2812.

An Elloree man is in jail after his neighbors watched him drive his truck across a yard, damaging the property Thursday.

A Baronet Lane man called deputies at around 4:43 p.m. after said he his 52-year-old neighbor barrelled through a nearby yard and began spinning his truck tires in the grass. The subject then ran over a tree in an adjoining yard, the report said.

When deputies arrived, they were told the man was inside the house. When he came out, deputies asked him to come to them and raise his shirt. They had prior knowledge of the subject and guns, according to the report.

Instead of obeying the commands, the man turned and began walking back toward the house. Deputies seized that moment by jumping on the man and taking him into custody, according to the incident report. He was charged with malicious injury to property.

You must be logged in to comment.