Three men charged in Lexington Co. club break-in
Posted: 08.04.2011 at 3:04 PM

Lexington, S.C. (WACH) -- Three men are charged with breaking in to the Pelion Social Club last month according to Lexington County officials.

Lexington County along with Pelion Police and Swansea Police arrested Mark Lee Hartley, 25, Kyle Stowers, 19, and Brendon Douglas James Lariviere, 17. All three are charged with second-degree burglary.

Sheriff James Metts says early in the morning on July 26, the three men used a hatchet to break out the glass from the Club's front door. The men stole four bottles of liquor as well as an old glass pickle jar from the club’s bar that contained nearly $60 in coins.

The men then went to a store to use a coin machine to exchange the $59 in coins for cash that they later used to buy alcohol, Metts said.

Hartley was released from the Lexington County Detention Center on July 31 after posting bail totaling $75,000, Metts said. Stowers and Lariviere is being held at the county Detention Center on bail totaling $95,000 each.

Sheriff Metts, Pelion Police Chief Chris Garner and Swansea Police Chief Clif Hayes said the arrests reflect joint investigations that the agencies regularly conduct.

“Criminals do not pay attention to law enforcement jurisdictional boundaries so we understand that it is essential for our agencies to work together to combat crime in southern Lexington County,” Metts, Garner and Hayes said.