Tools, Trailer Stolen from Blankets Creek Trails Warehouse

About $4,000 worth of club equipment was allegedly stolen from a warehouse at Blankets Creek Mountain Bike Trails near Holly Springs. 

According to a Cherokee Sheriff's Office incident report, deputies responded to the burglary call around 9 a.m. on Thursday and spoke with a Cherokee County employee who is managing the construction project taken place at the trails. 

Cherokee County Capital Program Coordinator Jud Martin said he received a call and text message that morning from the crew, who said they were not able to get inside construction warehouse.

The crew is working on the construction project in which a parking lot, a pavilion and restroom facilities are being built. 

Martin told deputies the crew typically is able to access the building with a hidden key kept on top of a door frame. Once he arrived on the scene to let the crew inside the building, he and others noticed several items missing from the warehouse.

Those items are: 

• trailer with Georgia license plate
• Porta-cable air compressor, valued at $169.   
• Air hose, valued at $50.   
• Air-powered Porta-cable framing gun, valued at $249.   
• Air-powered RIGID staple gun, valued at $200.   
• RIGID palm nailer, valued at $160.
• MAKITA Skil saw, valued at $124.    
• MAKITA jig saw, valued at $137.   
• 20-volt Dewalt brand cordless drill with batteries and charger, valued at $249.  
• A 20-volt DEWALT impact wrench with battery and charger, valued at $263.
• STIHL MS250 Stihl chainsaw, valued at $550.   
• STIHL MS291 Stihl model MS291, valued at $550. 
• TORO brand backpack blower, valued at $400. 
• 6 walkie talkies and bases, valued at $300. 
• gas generator valued at $300.

According to the report, the construction crew left around 8 p.m. Wednesday night and left one construction worker to say overnight in the parking lot.

The construction worker told deputies that a seperate crew with the Woodstock chapter of the Southern Off-Road Mountain Biking Association (SORBA) left around 8:20 p.m. and he saw one member with SORBA lock the warehoue and place the key on the frame. 

The worker then said he left to eat dinner at McDonald's on Sixes Road and returned around 11 p.m.

The man said he remained in his car "smoking and listening to his music" until he fell asleep around 1 a.m. He told authorities he left the music on in his car and covered his face with a blanket to block out the light coming from lights inside the warehouse.

He then said he woke up around 5 a.m. and noticed the light from the warehouse was off. He went to get breakfast at McDonald's and returned around 6 a.m. and waited until other construction crew arrived. 

No signs of forced entry were discovered at the scene. 

SORBA Woodstock President Jay Wilkes said on the group's Facebook page that the club is accepting donations to replace the items. The donations can be made here. 

Anyone with information is asked to call the Cherokee Sheriff's Office's Criminal Investigation Division at (770) 928-0239.

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