Police Blotter

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

3 arrested in theft

Three Appling residents - two Columbia County Sheriff's Office employees and a Lincoln County sheriff's employee - were arrested Nov. 12 after being accused of taking money from a volunteer fire department fund.

Carey Leon Powell Jr., 40, and his wife, Arleen Manning Powell, 49, both of the 290 block of Old Thomson Road, were acting trustees of a separate fund specifically for private donations and fund-raising profits to the Winfield Fire Department before its merger into North Columbia Fire and Rescue, police said.

Both were charged with felony theft by taking and were released Nov. 12 after each posted a $2,600 bond, according to jail records.

Also arrested was Danny Kay Agerton, 40, also of the 2900 block of Old Thomson Road. Agerton was charged with theft by deception. Columbia County sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris said Agerton did not repay a $150 check written to him from the fire department account as a loan.

Missing checks, which the Powells are accused of writing to themselves or to buy merchandise, were discovered during an audit ordered by the North Columbia Board of Directors, police said.

Theft arrest

An employee of Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse was arrested Friday after police say she was caught refunding money from nonexistent customers to her personal checking account.

A loss prevention officer for the Lowe's on Bobby Jones Expressway in Martinez told police he saw Latoya Denise Weaver, 21, set up a refund from the store and deposit it to her personal check card, according to a Columbia County Sheriff's Office incident report.

Weaver later admitted to performing several transactions and depositing the money into her personal checking account, the report states.

She was charged with misdemeanor theft by deception and was released Friday after posting an $1,100 bond.

Identity theft

A Martinez woman told police Thursday someone stole her personal information and used it to buy health products.

The woman said someone obtained her bank card information from a fraudulent e-mail that she responded to, according to a Columbia County Sheriff's Office incident report.

The woman said her bank card was used to purchase health products that were shipped to Turkey.

Martinez Fire report

Structure fires, four; vehicle fire, one; controlled burns, two; natural gas leak, one; fire alarms, three; medical calls, 19; rescue calls, 11; investigations, five; public service, two; and public safety assistance, one.