One man is in the Effingham County Jail after breaking into the GeoVista bank late Christmas night.

Timothy Meyers, 44, of Savannah faces a burglary charge, among others, after Effingham County Sheriff’s deputies and Rincon Police officers raced to the credit union Sunday night.

According to reports, shortly after 10 p.m., sheriff’s deputies and Rincon officers responded to the credit union on Columbia Avenue in Rincon on a report of a burglar alarm.

A sheriff’s deputy and a Rincon officer entered the building from the rear, and Meyers took off, using a sledgehammer he had with him to smash the front door. He fled from the building and into a wooded area.

Law enforcement authorities set up a perimeter and called in an Effingham County Sheriff’s K-9 unit. Within an hour, the suspect, walking in the Wisenbaker Road area, was spotted by an Effingham County deputy, where he was taken into custody. Meyers’ truck was recovered, along with several tools commonly used to break and enter, according to reports.

The suspect also caused extensive damage to the inside of the building, according to ECSO spokesman Detective David Ehsanipoor, and cut the phone wires. Meyers is said to have destroyed the credit union’s camera system and then ransacked the inside of the building, causing from $15,000-$20,000 in damage. Meyers also attempted to break into the safe before authorities responded.

Meyers is facing several charges including burglary, obstruction of a law enforcement officer, criminal damage to property in the second degree and possession of tools during the commission of a crime.

The FBI also is investigating the incident.

Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie and Rincon Police Chief Mike Bohannon commended the quick apprehension of the suspect by deputies, police and Georgia State Patrol troopers and their response to the building just two minutes after the alarm went off.

Meyers is currently being held in the Effingham County Jail.