Charges dropped against man accused of breaking into a Columbia middle school
Editor’s note: The charges were dismissed against the man in this article. The article was updated in February 2022.
A man who authorities said broke into Hand Middle School on Thursday was arrested.
Columbia Police Department charged the 22-year-old man of Spartanburg with second-degree burglary and malicious injury to property.
The incident happened at Hand Middle School about midnight, Capt. P.J. Blendowski said in a statement.
Officers and a K-9 team found the man inside the school after its alarm went off, police said.
The man injured himself during the break-in and received medical treatment, police said. Investigators collected DNA at the school as part of their investigation. School officials told police that nothing was stolen.
The man spent early Thursday morning jailed at Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center before being let out on bond. A judge ordered the man not to return to Hand Middle School, court records show.
Second-degree burglary is a felony punishable by 10 years in prison.
The man did not yet have a lawyer publicly listed for The State to contact.
This story was originally published January 23, 2021 at 12:42 PM.