Authorities are still investigating a Christmas Day break-in at the Greenwood Country Club in which most of its alcoholic beverages and a safe were taken.
No arrests had been made as of Thursday.
Sheriff Ricky Banks called the break-in “unusual” and said it’s only the second time in his career he can recall that someone has broken into the club.
He said deputies received a call from club workers at around 10:22 a.m. on Christmas Day. They had discovered the back door of the club’s main building was open.
Johnna Metz, the club’s general manager, said that one camera picked up the burglars arriving on bicycles.
She said she is still working on determining the dollar value of the beverages taken.
She said she and others had to scramble and go out of town to get more product so the annual Debutante Ball, held Dec. 28 and 29, could still go on.
The club was still without internet access as of Thursday. Metz said the interior of the business office was “destroyed,” and numerous pieces of equipment were taken, including computers, registers, tablets, point-of-sales systems and audio-visual equipment.
The burglars also stole a white Nissan Frontier pickup truck. Banks said it is unknown whether keys had been left in the vehicle or whether it was hot-wired. Keys to the front gate were also stolen, which is how the burglars escaped.
Banks said the culprits knew what they were doing and covered their tracks. The club’s camera system was cut, and cameras were spray-painted to obscure the lenses.
He speculated that the heist could have been an inside job.
Investigators recovered some evidence left behind, including a spray paint can and a glove.
Metz said the club is still open to members and business is being conducted “the old-fashioned way” without the technology equipment.
She said she is glad that the break-in took place after hours and that no workers could have been in harm’s way.
- Contact Kevin Edwards at 662-581-7233 or kedwards@gwcommonwealth.com.
