SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Update:
The vandalism suspect who had been detained early Monday morning has now been arrested and his identity released, Sacramento Police Department said.
Douglas Piercy, 47, of Sacramento was formally arrested for felony vandalism and was being held in the Sacramento County Jail, but he was released on Monday, booking logs said.
Original story:
Haggin Oaks Golf Complex was vandalized on Sunday when someone drove over the majority of the greens, leaving ripped up grass and tire marks across the course.
PGA director of golf at Haggin Oaks Mike Woods said that the damage resulted in the complete closure of one of the Sacramento courses in the complex.
"In the middle of the night, we had a person drive a vehicle out onto our Arcade Creek golf course," Woods said.
The person drove over 16 of the greens on the course, plus a practice one, according to Woods. Tearing up grass and dodging obstacles in the dark, the vandal also got a few holes on the Alister MacKenzie green.
"And he kinda did doughnuts, you would call it, on the green and created quite a bit of damage and big ruts," Woods said.
The once spotless flat grass is shredded with tire marks. Sure enough, large circles in the center make the shape of a doughnut.
Woods said a security guard called police, and at around 4 a.m., Sacramento Police Department stopped and detained a suspect.
On Monday night, Sacramento police said one person was arrested on a vandalism charge. Police identified him as Douglas Piercy.
Early on Monday, authorities said that officers would be learning more about the extent and cost of the damage and reviewing any security footage of the incident.
The Arcade Creek golf course will be closed on Monday and Tuesday as maintenance works to repair the damage, Woods said. He does not know yet how much the damage will cost the golf club, but said it is currently working through insurance to figure it out.
"Our maintenance is doing an amazing job," Woods said. "We have four courses we manage. So, we have people from our other courses that have come over as well, and we're in the process of repairing and replacing the turf and fixing it the best we can."
The Alister MacKenzie Golf Course also had some minor damage, but it remains open for play.
