Greenwood burglary ring busted

Police in the Upstate broke up a burglary ring Wednesday night that is responsible for several home invasions over the past month.  More than 20 guns were taken from homeowners in Greenwood County, along with a table-full of necklaces, bracelets, cameras, computers and two flat-screen TVs. 
In a three-week period, at least 10 homes were burglarized.  Greenwood County Sheriff Tony Davis said it didn’t take long for them to notice a pattern.  “They hit one house and they used a tire tool to gain entry by prying open the door.  Then a day or so later they broke into another house and we saw the same tool marks.  At that point, every burglary that we got a call on, we began to notice that they entered the same way.”
Davis said that they were all daytime burglaries where weapons, computers, televisions and jewelry were taken.   The burglars attempted to break into four residents while someone was at home, but did not gain entry.
Some of the items have already been returned to their owners.  “We’ve recovered several thousand dollars worth of items and are in the process of identifying the owners and returning some of these weapons,” said Davis.
Davis felt that the break-ins were drug-related.   “In this situation, we feel that it was drug-related in the sense that they were stealing to support drug habits.”  Davis said that there were others readily available to sell the items.
Investigators said they were able to track down the burglars through surveillance videos as one man attempted to return a stolen toy.