Police blotter

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

Crash cuts power

A Sunday morning auto crash knocked out power to about 500 Evans residents and the Wal-Mart SuperCenter for nearly three hours.

Just after 9 a.m. Sunday, Megan Marie Wodzisz, 17, of the 100 block of Wood Creek Lane in Appling, was attempting to take a left turn onto Ronald Reagan Drive from Washington Road when she hit an oncoming vehicle, according to a Columbia County Sheriff's Office incident report.

Wodzisz' vehicle struck and broke a utility pole, knocking out power in the area. Georgia Power crews repaired the damage in about three hours, a Georgia Power spokesman said.

Wodzisz was charged with failing to obey a traffic control device for not yielding the right of way to the Chevrolet Suburban driven by Trista B. Kayea, 32, of the 4400 block of Shadowmoor Drive, Martinez, the report stated.

Kayea and her passenger were uninjured. Wodsisz was treated and released from the Medical College of Georgia Hospital, said hospital spokesman Danielle Wong.

Missing flag

An Evans woman recently told police that someone stole her Masters flag.

Stefanie Brady, 29, of the 900 block of Mitchell Lane, said someone stole the 6-by-6-inch yellow and green Master flag and its metal pole from beside her mailbox Friday night, according to a Columbia County Sheriff's Office incident report.

Police searched the area, but did not find the flag. Brady had no idea who may have taken the flag, but said she will prosecute if any suspects are identified.

Burglar runs, caught

A Martinez man told police Thursday that he found someone inside his home when he returned that afternoon.

Billy Joe Reynolds, 30, of the 4400 block of Avery Avenue, said he noticed the screen of a front window missing when he pulled into his driveway just after 5 p.m. Thursday, according to the Columbia County Sheriff's Office incident report. Reynolds went inside to check out the residence when his fiance, Jena Ward, began screaming from outside.

Ward saw a man climb out the front window onto the front porch, the report stated. In the process, he dropped a backpack carrying an X-Box game system and five games.

Reynolds chased the man behind the Belair Villa Apartments until he met up with a sheriff's office deputy in front of Family Dollar, the report stated. The two went inside the store, where Reynolds identified Christopher Lamont Jones, 20, of the 100 block of Rhodes Road, Earle, Ark., as the man who broke into his home.

Jones was arrested and charged with burglary, and taken to the Columbia County Detention Center, the report stated.

Reynolds said that earlier in the day, a man matching Jones' description was going door to door around the neighborhood selling cleaning supplies.

Jones was still being held on a $10,050 bond Monday afternoon.

Peeping Tom

A Harlem woman recently told police that a man peeping through her windows had been warned to stay of her property before.

Loretta Garnett Williams, 51, of the 900 block of Appling-Harlem Highway, told police that she saw a man she identified as Johnny Glenn Lewis, 40, peeping through a rear window of her home just after 7 p.m. last Wednesday, according to a Columbia County Sheriff's office incident report.

After watching the man leave the property, Williams telephoned her neighbor, Mildred Lee Rolland, 62, asking her to keep an eye on the residence. Only 10 minutes later, both women saw the man return to Williams' home, step onto an air conditioning unit in the rear of the house and peer through a rear window, the report stated.

Williams yelled at the man to leave and called the sheriff's office. A magistrate judge determined there was enough evidence to arrest Lewis, of the 1000 block of Steed Drive, Harlem, so he was taken into custody and charged with criminal trespass and peeping Tom, the report stated.

Lewis was still being held in the Columbia County Detention Center on a combined $11,100 bond Monday afternoon.

Fire report

Martinez Fire Department activity report for the week of March 28-April 3:

Structure fire, one; vehicle fire, one; grass fire, three; controlled burns, two; fire alarms, seven; medical calls, 29; rescue calls, nine; investigations, three; public service, three; and other, three.