Police reports

The following accounts were taken from reports filed with the Columbia County Sheriff's office.

Missing pocketbook

An Appling woman said her pocketbook - filled with more checks and credit cards - was swiped as she shopped at Wal-Mart.

Sara Smith Miller, 82, told officers she had her purse inside of her shopping cart at Wal-Mart on Bobby Jones Expressway on June 26. She said her wallet sticking out and visible to anyone in the area.

After pushing her shopping cart to the checkout line, she noticed her wallet had been stolen. She told officers the only time she took her eye off her purse was when she bent down to look at an item on the floor.

She told officers before she could contact her bank and credit card companies, more than $7,000 had been charged to at least three of her credit cards and more than $500 worth of checks had been used. She was able to eventually closed those accounts.

Stolen Power

A Jefferson Electric employee told officers an Appling residence was stealing electricity.

Nicholas Thomas Davis, 35, said he was reading the power meters on the 7800 block of Lakeside Drive when he discovered someone had tampered with a meter by tearing a metal pin. The power box had been modified so a home could illegally get power.

Davis said he would have to speak with his supervisors before decided whether to press charges.

Poisoned Plants

A Martinez woman said someone sprayed poison on several of her plants in her home on the 4500 block of Ashbrook Court earlier this week.

Nancy Turner Whitehead, 54, told officers she noticed a clear liquid had been sprayed on some of her house plants on July 1 but didn't know how much damaged was caused because it takes a few days for the poison to work.

Fire Calls

The Martinez Fire Department responded to the following calls during the week of June 23-29: structure fire, one; vehicle fire, one; controlled burns, two; fire alarms, ten; medical calls, twelve; rescue call, one; investigations, six; public service, two; other, one.