Police blotter
The following accounts were taken from reports filed with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office.
Lightning causes fires
Four Martinez homes caught fire because of lightning strikes during a thunderstorm Sunday night. No one was injured in the incidents, authorities said.
The Martinez Fire Department responded to 204 Parnell Lane shortly after 11 p.m. after lightning struck a nearby pine tree, then jumped to the home, according to fire department spokeswoman Honey Shore. No one was injured, but the home sustained only slight damage to the attic and gas line.
Only two minutes later, lightning struck just above a bedroom window of a home at 4108 Englewood Drive. Shore said the homeowner's son was in the bedroom at the time, but no one was injured. The house sustained heavy damage to the attic and bedroom of the two-story home, Shore said.
A home at 354 Pellet Court was only slightly damaged after lightning struck a nearby pine tree at 11:25 p.m. before hitting the first floor of the home owned by Kevin and Melanie Murdock, Shore said.
A home, owned by Jason and Heather Redd, at 158 Evergreen Drive received heavy damage to the attic and upstairs after lightning struck the house while the Redds were not home. A neighbor called in the fire, Shore said.
Argument over music
An Evans man claimed that another man threatened him with a gun at a gas station Saturday afternoon.
John Lewis told police that he was pumping gas at the Circle K at 4665 Washington Road in Evans, just before 1 p.m. when a man near him left music in his SUV that included curse words and was playing extremely loud.
Lewis said when he asked the man to turn the music down so his kids wouldn't hear, the man walked to his vehicle, pulled out a handgun and threatened to kill Lewis, according to a Columbia County Sheriff's Office incident report.
Lewis said he ran to his vehicle and called 911 while the man who threatened him fled west on Washington Road, the report stated.
Witnesses saw the argument, saw the man walk to his vehicle and reach inside and yell at Lewis, but never saw a gun, the report stated.
Car found wrecked
A Martinez man found his car wrecked after he heard someone drive away in it early Saturday morning.
Reese Bernard Quick, of the 300 block of Oak Lake Road, told police that between 5:15 and 6 a.m., he heard someone crank and leave in his 1993 Ford Taurus, which was parked in his driveway, according to the Columbia County Sheriff's Office report.
Quick told police that he jumped into his truck and looked for the car and found it later wrecked on the 4000 block of Colonial Road, the report stated.
The driver of the car left the keys in the ignition after running away. Both of the car's air bags were deployed, the report stated.
Air conditioner removed
A Grovetown woman returned from vacation Thursday to find she had no air-conditioning.
Jacqueline Moe Ohara, of the 1100 block of Lone Oak Road, told police that after nearly two months out of town on vacation, she returned home to find someone stole the 3 1/2 -ton heating and air-conditioning unit of her home, according to a sheriff's report.
Ohara said the unit was located in the rear of the home. The serial numbers were entered into the sheriff's office computer as stolen, the report stated.
Martinez Fire Department Activity Report for the week of July 18-24:
Structure fires, two; auxiliary structure fire, one; grass fires, three; controlled burn, one; natural gas leak, one; fire alarms, seven; medical calls, 14; rescue calls, six; investigations, seven; mutual aid, one; and other, one.