Police blotter
The following accounts were taken from reports filed with the Columbia County Sheriff's office.
Produce pilfered
James Dee Stevens Jr., a produce clerk for Kroger on Columbia Road, saw a man eat a container of blackberries while he was grocery shopping last Sunday night.
The man began eating the blackberries on aisle one and then deposited the empty container on aisle five. Another witness, listed only as Ms. Darden, saw the man also eating a bag of cashews.
A Columbia County Sheriff's Office incident report stated that a man identified as Paul Monica paid for his other items at the register, but no attempt was made to pay for the items witnesses say he consumed. When confronted about it, Monica apologized and ran for the door. He was stopped and later taken to the Columbia County Detention Center.
Monica, 42, of the 400 block of Blue Ridge Drive, was booked on shoplifting charges.
Men attacked
According to a Columbia County Sheriff's Office incident report, Christopher Sean Martin, 18, and Rudy Daniel Altman, 24, both of Evans, were in a car in the parking lot of the Rack and Grille when they were accosted by an unidentified person early Monday morning.
The police report stated Martin and the person exchanged harsh words earlier. Martin told deputies that the person struck Altman through the passenger side window and then hit the door of the 2002 Honda Civic, causing a scratch.
Martin said that he got out of his car to inspect the damage when he was struck by a closed fist to the head.
Man leaves gas-soaked rags
Bryron David Hersey, 25, of 4388 Ridge Valley Dr., reported that he saw a man pull up in a Toyota Camry and start removing jugs of an unknown liquid from the trunk last Thursday.
According to the Columbia County Sheriff's Office incident report, Hersey said he saw a man later identified as Ronnie Lee Perry pour the liquid into his Ford Explorer, and in and around his house. Hersey called the sheriff's office when he smelled gas.
Deputies arrived and found clothes soaked with gas inside and outside. All the windows had been broken out of the house at an earlier date. The report stated that the house is under foreclosure.
Deputies obtained a warrant and arrested the suspect at the Econo Lodge on Belair Road where he is temporarily living.
Missing shotgun
The loss prevention officer of Kmart on Washington Road, Anthony Jerome Moses, reported to the Columbia County Sheriff's Office that a pump-action shotgun was missing from the store's inventory.
Moses told the sheriff's office that the gun was discovered missing between Oct. 7 and Nov. 7 and he reported it to the police Nov. 13.
According to the incident report, a Kmart inventory check conducted in November 2001 listed the firearm as being there. Another inventory check in June 2002 listed the shotgun as missing.
The incident report states that a change in Kmart's management personnel has prevented any information from that time period. When the inventory list was checked against a sales log book in October 2002 a discrepancy was noted. An in-house investigation confirmed the shotgun was missing.
Fire report
The Martinez Fire Department responded to the following calls during the week of Nov. 10-Nov. 16: Structure Fires, three; vehicle fire, one; controlled burn, one; fire alarms, 10; natural gas leak, one; medical calls, 26; rescue calls, 12; investigation, one; public service, one; other, two.