Police blotter

Robbery arrest

Columbia County deputies Thursday arrested a Thomson man they say robbed an Evans tanning salon at knifepoint Monday afternoon.

Mark Anthony Meyers, 27, of Earl Street in Thomson, was arrested at his home and charged with three counts each of kidnapping, aggravated assault and armed robbery, and one county of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, said Columbia County Sheriff's Office Capt. Steve Morris.

Deputies say Meyers entered CoCo's Cabana Centre at Evans, 4447 Washington Road, at about 3:30 p.m. Monday, then forced three female employees to a back room. According to an incident report, Meyers told the women to take off their clothes. The women refused, and one suffered a cut to her middle finger during a scuffle with the man.

No money appeared to be missing, Morris said, adding that evidence left at the scene by Meyers linked him to the crime. Meyers is being held at the Columbia County Detention Center.

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

Deputy injured

A Columbia County Sheriff's deputy was treated for minor injuries Sept. 4 after he was dragged by a car that authorities say was driven by a convicted felon.

Deputy William Oates was traveling south on Baston Road at 3:48 a.m. Sept. 4 when he saw a red four-door vehicle pull out of the Pump 'N Shop at Baston and Old Petersburg roads. The vehicle was traveling the wrong way, an incident report states.

Oates pulled over the driver, who handed over a license but said the car belonged to his sister.

As Oates returned to his patrol car to check the license and talk with Deputy John McDonald, McDonald said he saw a black object being tossed out of the car. The deputies discovered the object was a .25-caliber handgun and ordered the driver to get out of the car.

Police say he refused to do so and began driving away as Oates reached for the door handle. Oates was dragged a couple of feet before rolling onto the pavement.

The driver escaped, and Oates was treated for scratches on his arms and hands.

Indecent exposure

An Augusta woman told police someone in a passing car exposed himself to her on Interstate 20 in Columbia County last Sunday night.

Erin Elizabeth Prescott told deputies that while she was driving west on I-20 just before midnight Sept. 5, she approached a slower-moving car in the inside lane.

Prescott said that the driver would not move into the outside lane and that the driver and passenger began throwing cigarette butts out the windows and onto her car.

After flashing her lights, Prescott said, she passed the car in the outside lane. She said the passenger then exposed his buttocks through a window.

Prescott told police both people in the car gave her "the finger" before exiting I-20 onto Appling-Harlem Highway.

Burning cross

A burning cross was found in the front yard of a Martinez home early Monday, according to a police report. The next day, the home was burglarized.

Anthony Neal Henry, 20, of the 3500 block of Dewey Drive, told police he discovered a 6-foot-tall burning cross at about 2:45 a.m. Monday in the side yard of a home he shares with Pamela Clark Williams. When police arrived, the cross was still burning, the report says.

An investigation revealed no footprints, tire tracks or drag marks on the driveway leading to Oakley-Pirkle Road.

The next day, Williams said, someone entered her home between 1 and 7 a.m. and stole her purse, which contained $20, a car key with remote entry and her driver's license. Williams said there were no signs of forced entry into the home and the doors were locked.

Henry and Williams are both white.