Hey guys. He’s the Beaufort County sheriff. Not cool to break into his truck

Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner has spent his law enforcement career dealing with crime victims.

Last week, he was one.

Several vehicles belonging to police and civilians were broken into in Columbia at three hotels sometime Thursday night. The break-ins occurred at the Hilton Garden Inn on Columbiana Drive, the Fairfield Inn on Columbiana Drive and the Embassy Suites on Stoneridge Drive, Jennifer Timmons, spokeswoman for the Columbia Police Department told The State. Police were in town for the Sheriff’s Office Association’s Medal of Valor award ceremony Thursday.

Timmons said the vehicles hit included included ones from sheriff’s offices in Beaufort, Lee, Marlboro and Colleton counties. Items stolen from other police vehicles included law enforcement weapons and ballistic vests.

The only vehicle from Beaufort County that was broken into was Tanner’s personal GMC pickup truck, which was parked at the Embassy Suites, he said Tuesday morning.

“(The thieves) broke my right rear passenger door window and rummaged through (the truck),” Tanner said. “The only thing of value taken out of the truck was my leather-bound appointment book.” The suspects also took some change inside and opened glove boxes, Tanner said.

Tanner discovered the break in Friday morning around 7:15 a.m. when Columbia police began to investigate the break-ins at the other hotels.

The would-be thieves might have gotten away with it had they not been clocked speeding by the S.C. Highway Patrol on Friday morning on I-77 in Chester County.

According to a separate news article from The State, a trooper patrolling the area around 6:30 a.m. saw a Chrysler 300 traveling at 91 mph in a 70 mph zone. The trooper attempted to stop the vehicle, but it sped away, which lead to a police chase.

“We are very lucky that all crooks aren’t rocket scientists,” Tanner said. “Running 91 in a 70 gave the patrol the ability to make a traffic stop and a lot of stuff was recovered.”

Troopers set up a “roaming road block” along the highway where the suspects stopped and rammed two patrol cars, the article said.

Officers used their batons to break the windows of the Chrysler and remove all three suspects, who were taken to the Chester County Detention Center.

The driver, Elontrae Ali Glenn, 23, was charged with failure to stop for blue lights and sirens. He was also charged with unlawful carrying of a pistol, sale or delivery of a pistol to unlawful persons and receiving stolen goods.

Passengers Morgan Nicole Fowler, 20, and Santario Demarcus Washington, 25, were charged with unlawful carrying of a pistol, sale or delivery of a pistol to certain persons unlawful and receiving stolen goods.

Troopers found 9 handguns and two bullet-proof vests reported stolen in Columbia along with “other stolen items,” Sgt. Bob Beres told The State.

Tanner said he hasn’t inquired about his stolen planner yet, but plans to sometime this week.

“I guess maybe they thought it was a commercial checkbook or had some credit cards in it,” he said. “I’m just trying to re-create my appointments for the next several months.”

Tanner said he was able to get his truck’s window fixed on Friday at the cost of $495.

“(Break-ins) can happen to anybody at anytime,” Tanner said. “We encourage all of our citizens to lock their vehicle and not leave anything of value in their car. The last thing in the world I would think that someone would see value in is an appointment book, but you never know.”

This story was originally published January 30, 2018 at 11:05 AM with the headline "Hey guys. He’s the Beaufort County sheriff. Not cool to break into his truck."