Police blotter
The following accounts were taken from reports filed with the Columbia and McDuffie county sheriffs' offices.
Guns taken
Westlake resident Jeffrey N. Broder called the sheriff's office March 13 about a burglary of guns at his home last June.
According to a police report, Broder - a physician - told deputies that someone entered his home and took a gun safe, a .30-06 rifle, and 16-gauge and 12-gauge shotguns.
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Broder said that he went into a spare bedroom in the basement of his home to put away some diving gear and noticed the gun safe missing.
He told police that his home had been burglarized in June 2002, but he didn't check the basement at that time for missing items.
According to Broder, the safe had been kept in the basement and not opened since moving in eight years ago.
Broder didn't know the guns' serial numbers, but does wish to prosecute when the suspects are identified.
Woman finds missing keys
An Augusta woman says her keys were stolen while shopping at Wal-Mart and she saw the thieves looking for her car.
While Angela Elizabeth Hagler, 31, of the 2000 block of Ohio Avenue, Augusta, was shopping at the Wal-Mart on Bobby Jones Expressway, two women bumped into her. When she left the store, Hagler was unable to find her keys, a Columbia County Sheriff's Office incident report stated.
Hagler witnessed the same two females walking around the parking lot pushing a keyless entry remote, which she believed was an attempt to find her car, the report stated. The two females got into a white car and left the area.
Hagler says the keys were stolen when the females bumped into her inside the store. The key ring held a car, house and other miscellaneous keys in addition to the keyless-entry remote.
Car dusted with mysterious substance
An Augusta woman found her vehicle dusted with a mysterious white substance while in Martinez.
Susan Cocchi, 52, of the 1200 block of Colony Place Drive, Augusta, exited 521 Oakbrook Drive, Martinez, to find her 2000 Pontiac Grand Am completely dusted with a white powdery substance believed to be flour, a Columbia County Sheriff's Office incident report stated.
When Cocchi tried to wash the vehicle at a car wash, the substance remained on some areas, causing $200 in paint damage, the report stated.
Tools stolen from garage
While a Grovetown man was hospitalized, several expensive tools were taken from his garage.
Edward Lybolt, 54, of the 600 block of Hagin Road, Grovetown, returned from a hospital stay to find more than $1,000 worth of tools and equipment missing, a Columbia County Sheriff's Office incident report stated.
Missing was a three-ton floor jack and jack stands, a 225-amp welder, a 50-foot hose, a 15-speed drill press and other equipment. There were no signs of forced entry into the garage, the report stated.
Drugs found in car
A South Carolina man was arrested for possession of cocaine early Monday near Thomson after being pulled over for speeding, according to a report filed by the McDuffie County Sheriff's Office.
Brandon Hill of Columbia, S.C., was stopped heading eastbound on Interstate 20 for going 106 mph around 1 a.m. when an officer smelled marijuana in Hill's car.
The officer later found cocaine inside the vehicle and placed Hill under arrest.
Appliances stolen
A thief stole $2,000 worth of appliances from a mobile home at Omega Homes of Thomson, according to a McDuffie County Sheriff's Office report.
Omega Homes, in the 1800 block of Washington Road, reported the incident Saturday morning around 11 a.m.
The unidentified thief entered one of the homes and stole a refrigerator and a dishwasher.
Fire calls
Martinez Fire Department activity report for March 16-22: structure fires, two; vehicle fires, two; controlled burn, one; fire alarms, seven; natural gas leak, one; medical calls, 24; rescue calls, nine; investigations, four; public service, six; public safety assistance, one.