Police blotter

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

Martinez woman's purse stolen in grocery store lot

A Martinez woman's purse was stolen as she loaded groceries into her car.

Nola Donahue Hickey, 59, of Thomas Drive, was putting groceries into her car in the parking lot of the Kroger on Columbia Road when an unknown male approached her and grabbed her purse from the cart beside her, according to a Columbia County Sheriff's Office report.

The man described as a white male, approximately five-foot-five, 140-pounds, wearing a dark sweatshirt fled on foot toward Kroger Road.

Wal-Mart pickpocket makes off with man's wallet

A Martinez man returned home to find his wallet missing, and he said he believes it was taken by a pickpocket at Wal-Mart.

James Coleman Bible III, 52, of Dowling Drive, discovered his wallet missing from the rear pocket of his pants after a few hours around town. He recalled standing in line at the service desk at Wal-Mart on Bobby Jones when a woman bumped into him, the Columbia County Sheriff's Office report stated.

Bible said he believed the woman is responsible for the missing wallet, the report stated. He described the woman as a heavyset white female, five-foot-four to five-foot-eight, mid-40s with blondish gray hair.

Stolen vehicle used in hit-and-run

An Evans man recently found out from the sheriff's office that his truck had been stolen and used in a hit-and-run accident.

The Columbia County Sheriff's Office responded to a hit-and-run accident, where a white Chevrolet S-10 pickup left the scene, a Columbia County Sheriff's Office report stated. The tag number was traced to John Mitch Carter Sr., 48, of the 4300 block of Evans to Locks Road, Evans.

When deputies reached Carter to confirm he still owned the vehicle, Carter stated he did and last saw the vehicle parked in his yard that morning. Keys to the truck are normally kept in the ashtray of the unlocked vehicle, the report stated. No glass was found in the area where the truck was parked.

Burglars take furniture from Harlem home

A Harlem man returned to his residence to find that his living room had been cleared out.

Harvey Raymond Fritts, 48, of McZilkey Road, said he was unable to secure his home because prior vandalism. Burglars entered his residence and took his couch, gas fireplace logs and a gliding rocking chair, a Columbia County Sheriff's Office report stated.

Bold burglars bash through front door

Thieves busted in the front door and burglarized two Martinez home recently.

Almost $2,500 worth of merchandise was stolen from 42-year-old Gracia Germaine Markyna's Old Ferry Road home after burglars kicked in the front door of the home, a Columbia County Sheriff's Office report stated. The burglars took a television and three rings, including an engagement ring.

Katharina Elise Hatch, 30, also found the front door of her Kemp Drive home forced open, a sheriff's office report stated.