COLUMBIA — At 8:08 p.m. Monday at the Hilton Garden Conference Center, an employee who thought he should be alone found damage to part of the ceiling and heard footsteps inside the business. He left the building and called 911, said Lt. Scott Young of the Columbia Police Department.
After Columbia police officers arrived, Young said, they set up a perimeter around the building and started reviewing security video of the location. Officers, after establishing that a subject had entered but had not left, were assisted by the Columbia Fire Department to gain access to the roof. There was evidence that someone had accessed the building through a vent, Young said.
After the premises were searched extensively, Keon Scott, 17, was found hiding in some insulation. After struggling to keep from being uncovered and handcuffed, he was taken into custody, and officers found he had rubber gloves and tools they think were used for the initial break-in, police said.
He provided a false name that turned up as a known alias through a records search.
Scott was charged with deceiving a law enforcement officer, first-degree burglary, possession of burglar's tools, second-degree property damage and resisting arrest, Young said.