Police blotter

The following accounts were taken from reports filed with the Columbia County Sheriffs Office.

Arson arrest

A Grovetown man is in jail after being arrested Thursday accused of starting an April house fire.

William Highnote, 26, of Fourth Avenue, was arrested Thursday and charged with arson in connection with a structure fire at 108 Fourth Ave. on April 21, Grovetown Department of Public Safety Capt. Gary Owens said.

An investigation into the fire that destroyed the unoccupied home revealed that the fire began as a burglary, Owens said.

Highnote was being held in the Grovetown jail on one charge of arson with a $45,150 bond, Owens said.

Brass-knuckle attack

An Evans man was struck in the face on May 24 by an assailant wearing metal knuckles.

Reggie Demond Bennett, 19, told police the suspect punched him in the lip and then hit him in the leg with a metal pipe. He then went into his house on the 900 block of Cobb Road in Evans.

Bennett, of the 600 block of Blanchard Road, said the man then came back out of the house with a handgun, fired two shots into the air and left in a burgundy Grand Prix.

Bennett refused to file charges.

Heavy pocket picked

An Augusta woman said she was pick-pocketed after leaving a Martinez bank.

Marcella Anita Moss, 29, told officers she withdrew $2,500 from the Wachovia branch at 3726 Washington Road on May 24 and put the money in her shirt pocket. As she was leaving, she said a man bumped into her, apologized and kept walking.

She discovered the money was missing when she stopped to get gas, she said.

The victim said she believes the man who bumped into her stole her money.

Moss told police she later saw the suspect and another man inside a car at a nearby restaurant, and they drove away when they saw her approaching.

Vehicle towed

An Evans man said his car was stolen last week by a Florida-based towing service.

Ertugrul Gonen, 50, told authorities his 1985 Mercedes broke down on Interstate 95 about 7 a.m. May 24. He said a man driving for Friers Towing Service stopped and offered to tow his car to his home on the 8100 block of Sir Galahad Drive for $377.

However, once they arrived in Evans, Gonen said the driver demanded $900. Gonen refused to pay and the suspect left with the Mercedes, according to a police report.

Gonen told police he believes the towing service is based in Daytona, Fla.

Guest takes car

A Martinez woman told police last Wednesday that someone staying the night at her home stole her car.

Rikki Eddings, 27, of the 400 block of Old Evans Road, told police that she allowed an Augusta woman to stay at her residence the night of May 25.

Eddings said that when she woke up about 6:30 a.m. May 26, her overnight visitor was gone and had taken Eddings 1992 Toyota Camry, her purse and cell phone and $352 in cash, the report stated.

The car was recorded as stolen.

Martinez Fire Report

Martinez Fire Department activity for May 23-29: structure fires, two; grass fires, three; controlled burns, four; natural gas leak, one; medical calls, 23; rescue calls, three; investigation, one; public service, one; other, one.

Dogs poisoned

An Augusta man told police recently that his dogs were poisoned.

Mark Anthony Davison, 35, of the 1300 block of Highland Avenue, said his dogs were poisoned with an unknown substance last Tuesday night while at a residence on the 6100 block of Keg Creek Drive in Appling, according to the Columbia County Sheriffs Office incident report.

Davison told police that the dogs were alive in the backyard of the residence that night and were found dead in the yard at 6:30 a.m. the next morning. The dogs had no visible signs of trauma, but both had bled from the mouth before dying, the report stated.

Columbia County Animal Care and Control was notified and officers responded. Immediate neighbors were contacted, but offered no addition information. Davison said he will prosecute of the offender is identified, the report stated.