Former Vendue Inn worker charged with stealing safe

Charleston Police have charged a former employee of Vendue Inn and Rooftop Grill with burglarizing the establishment on Oct. 21 and using a dolly to cart off a safe with $7,436 inside.

Bricken Pierre Brown, 29, of 530 Orangeburg Road, Summerville, is charged with second-degree burglary in connection with the theft at 25 Vendue Range, police spokesman Charles Francis said.

Brown also is charged with possession of marijuana because he had 13 grams of marijuana on him when he was arrested, Francis said. He is being held in the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center.

The incident occurred between 3 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. and was discovered when the staff arrived for work, Francis said.

A surveillance video showed a black man in a hoodie sweatshirt and jeans inside the restaurant after hours, according to a police report.

The intruder forced open a door to the manager’s office and then used a dolly to remove the 200-pound safe, police said. The thief also broke into an ATM at the inn but was unable to get at the cash inside, a report stated.

Police have not revealed how they tied Brown to the crime.