Man Arrested for Breaking into School

A 27-year-old man was arrested Friday and charged with second-degree burglary tied to a Wednesday break-in at Gilbert Elementary School.

Lexington County Sheriff James Metts announced in a release that detectives arrested Jason Daniel Kelley, who does not have a permanent address, on a charge of second-degree burglary. Kelley was booked at the Lexington County Detention Center at 12:58 a.m. on Friday.

According to the release, Kelley was being held on Friday at the county Detention Center on an $80,000 bond.

An arrest warrant alleges that Kelley broke into the school by using a decorative stone to shatter two exterior windows, Metts said. Kelley stole hand-held radios, over-the-counter pain medication and school supplies. Kelley also used a dry erase marker to write several profanity-laced statements on walls inside the school.

Detectives later found a backpack and hand-held radios in Kelley’s possession that had been reported stolen from the school, Metts said.

Under South Carolina law, second-degree burglary is a felony that carries a maximum punishment of 15 years in prison, Metts said.