Police blotter
Man guilty in rape
A 22-year-old man charged with raping a Martinez woman who could neither speak nor hear pleaded guilty to the crime this week.
John C. Henderson, of the 200 block of Ellis Street in Augusta, made the plea Tuesday in Columbia County Superior Court.
Chief Judge William M. Fleming Jr. sentenced him to serve 10 years in prison followed by five years on probation.
According to the Columbia County sheriff's department, Henderson broke into the victim's home Aug. 16, 2003, and attacked her while she was asleep.
She struggled, and in the course of the struggle was able to pull off the mask her assailant was wearing.
She recognized him as someone who was staying in her neighborhood.
The 52-year-old victim died from natural causes before Henderson's plea.
The following accounts were taken from reports filed with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office:
Newsstands stolen
A Hephzibah woman told police Tuesday that someone stole two The Augusta Chronicle newspaper stands at two Martinez businesses.
The woman, who was renting the newspaper stands from The Augusta Chronicle, said she noticed a newsstand missing in front of the Martinez Wal-Mart and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, both off Bobby Jones Expressway.
Both newsstands contained $20 in coins, and their estimated value is $500 each, a sheriff's report states.
Also, a Hephzibah man told police Monday that while he was working on the lawn at the Martinez Regions Bank off Washington Road, he noticed a newsstand that had been dumped in front of the bank.
A Chronicle representative met with Columbia County authorities to retrieve the newsstand, which had been reported stolen the night before in Richmond County.
Cable TV theft
A Martinez woman told police Tuesday that she received a cable bill for services she did not order.
The woman, 25, who lives in the 400 block of Old Evans Road, said she received a $236.93 Comcast cable bill for pay-per-view movies that she did not order for her household.
She also said that when she came home, she noticed her cable was not functioning for the fifth time.
A Comcast cable service provider visited the woman's apartment and said someone had damaged the cable box and disconnected the woman's cable to be attached to another apartment.
Martinez fire report
Martinez Fire Department Activity Report for the week of Oct. 10-16:
Structure fire, one; grass fires, two; vehicle fire, one; controlled burn, one; fire alarms, four; medical calls, 22; rescue calls, five; and investigations, four.