Five juveniles are responsible for a Cloquet Country Club break-in early Friday morning, Cloquet police said Friday afternoon. Thanks to a tip from a Cloquet resident, detectives were able to find the boys, aged 13-17, who allegedly damaged the clubhouse and stole liquor, electronics and food.
According to Cloquet Police Detective Darren Berg, the break-in to the clubhouse building is thought to have occurred sometime between the early morning hours of 1 and 5 a.m. He said a window on the north side of the building was broken to gain access, and evidence would indicate the juveniles approached the clubhouse by way of a trail that leads through the woods from USG. He said it appears they made multiple trips in and out of the building using a golf cart, ransacking the kitchen, bar and dining room areas and making off with contents.
Country club personnel were still in the process of assessing the damage and loss last Friday.
Tables, chairs and barstools in the clubhouse were overturned, frozen pizzas and snack foods were strewn on the floor, beverages were spilled on the floor behind the bar, and signage was damaged. The security system at the clubhouse did not appear to be activated, according to Berg.
Cloquet Police investigators were on site to investigate the break-in shortly after 5 a.m. and later followed a trail of liquor bottles to an Avenue A neighborhood. A neighbor Berg spoke to said younger males had been putting liquor bottles into a van and when Berg went to that area, he found golf balls and eventually the suspects.
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"It seems from talking with some of them that they went to the golf course to pick golf balls and one thing led to another," Berg said.
The case remains under investigation and Berg expects charges to be filed against the juveniles.
