Police blotter
The following accounts were taken from reports filed with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office.
Unwanted visitor
A Martinez man returned to his home under construction Saturday morning to find someone else ready to load its contents.
Charlie Augustus Lovett of Evans-to-Locks Road in Martinez, returned to his home Saturday to find a white mid-sized truck backed up to the home being built in front of his current home on the same property, according to a Columbia County Sheriff's Office incident report.
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The truck abruptly left, Lovett told deputies. He followed the truck down Stevens Creek Road to River Watch Parkway.
Lovett told deputies nothing was missing or damaged.
Winfield thefts
Items were stolen from a business and two camp sites in Winfield Saturday night or early Sunday morning.
Thomas Peyton McGahee, owner of Peyton's Corner Store on Winfield Road, Appling, reported the padlock cut off an outdoor ice machine and an unknown number of 20-pound ice bags stolen Saturday night, according to a Columbia County Sheriff's Office incident report. McGahee also reported a $200 sign was stolen from the business a month earlier.
Coolers were stolen from two campsites at Winfield Campground. William Lewis Sims of Aiken awoke Saturday morning to find his ice-filled cooler missing, according to the incident report. The cooler was later found, covered with pine straw, in woods 50 yards from the site.
A cooler filled with beer, soda, milk and ice, belonging to Carl John Peebles II of Thomson, was stolen the same night but not recovered, the report stated.
Domino's threatened
The manager of Domino's Pizza, 4357 Washington Road in Evans, told deputies that a woman called the store about 11 p.m. Friday night and said it would be robbed, according to a Columbia County Sheriff's Office incident report. Sabrina Lynn Oliver of Augusta called the number back and told the female who answered that she would report the previous threatening call to the sheriff's office, the report stated.
Fence cut, items stolen
A burglar cut through a chain-link fence to steal items from a Martinez lawn-equipment store.
Harry Lester McGahee Jr., owner of Harry's Saw Shop at 237 Bobby Jones Expressway, told deputies he discovered a riding lawn mower worth $3,500 and a utility trailer worth $1,500 missing from the business's rear yard Friday morning, according to a Columbia County Sheriff's Office incident report.
Someone had cut a section of the chain link fence around the north side of the property to get to the items, the report stated.
Building defies theft
A Martinez man discovered one item stolen and another destroyed from a home he rents on South Belair Road.
On Thursday, Mark Jackson Storey of Martinez told deputies he found the heat pump disconnected and stolen from a home rented by his father, Forrest Jackson Storey, of Martinez, according to a Columbia County Sheriff's Office incident report.
Someone also attempted to steal a metal-and-wood shed from the back yard, but the wooden skids had rotted, so the shed collapsed when moved, the report stated.
Prior renters at the residence had left still owing rent. A neighbor told Storey he saw the renter and his adult sons trying to move the shed two weeks ago, the report stated.
Missing safe
A safe was the only thing stolen from a Martinez man when his home was burglarized last week.
Jimmy John Chase told deputies that when he arrived home Thursday, he discovered someone had broken into the home because pry marks marred the back door, the rear sliding glass door was cracked and a rear window was broken and unsecured, according to a Columbia County Sheriff's Office incident report. The side door was unlocked and open when Chase arrived home, he told deputies.
The only thing missing was a fire-proof safe that was hidden behind the master bedroom door in a paper sack, the report stated. The safe contained miscellaneous documents, $100 in coins, a $100 folding knife and a $100 antique ivory smoking pipe that was more than 100 years old.
Nothing else in the residence was disturbed, the report stated.
Gunn's gun stolen
A gun was taken in a recent Grovetown burglary.
James Lewis Gunn of Grovetown told deputies someone entered his home by prying open the back door. The burglar took a rifle with a scope from his bedroom closet and beer from the refrigerator.
Fire report
Martinez Fire Department activity report for the week of Aug. 3-9: Structure fires, three; vehicle fires, two; controlled burns, two; fire alarms, nine; carbon monoxide, one; medical calls, 21; rescue calls, seven; investigations, four; public service, one; other, one.