Police: Pair Charged With Thefts, Malicious Damage

Two men face numerous charges after they allegedly decided to mess with a Florida road construction crew staying at their hotel, a Simpsonville Police incident report said.

Eric B. Pruitt, 21, of Fountain Inn, and Johnny D. Thompson, 17, of Gray Court, face autobreaking, malicious damage, and petit theft charges stemming from the incident, which occurred June 7 at the Quality Inn on Grandview Drive in Simpsonville, the report said.

A construction crew worker with Plant City, Fla.-based ACKA, Inc., said he had witnessed the suspects loitering around the crews vehicles, and had witnessed one of them spitting on one of the vehicles from a second-floor railing that night, the report said.

When the crew got up the following morning, they discovered that two of their CB radios and six CB antennas had been stolen from the crew's vehicles, the report said. One of the antennas had also been destroyed, the report said.

Police arrived in response to a disturbance after the crew confronted the suspects about the thefts, the report said. After locating the suspects outside their room, the pair admitted to the crimes and police found the items in their room, the report said.

Despite saying they were "sorry," the pair were arrested and charged and transported to the county detention center. Pruitt has since been released, but Thompson remained in the detention center in lieu of $10,000 bond.