Police Blotter
The following accounts were taken from reports filed with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office.
Police search for robbery suspect
Authorities were still looking Monday for a man who robbed two Zaxby's employees at gunpoint Sunday night.
An employee told police he exited the back door of the store at 3909 Washington Road in Martinez just after 9 p.m. and saw a man hiding behind a garbage container.
He said the man forced him to the ground with a gun and stole $40 from him, according to the incident report.
He said the man then asked who was inside the restaurant and if the manager had "the money.''
The manager said she then exited the back door and a man with a stocking over his face emerged from behind her vehicle, pointed a gun at her and took the store's money bag, the report stated.
She said the man ran away through the back parking lot toward Roberts Road.
Investigators are searching for the man, described as black, 6 feet tall, 180 pounds, wearing all black.
Shoplifting, drug arrest
A Harlem man faces drug charges after police say he was caught trying to shoplift Thursday from a Martinez retailer.
Columbia County sheriff's Deputy Judy Thomason was on patrol at the Wal-Mart at 260 Bobby Jones Expressway early Thursday morning when a store associate flagged her down.
The associate pointed to a man who pulled something from under his shirt and attempted to hide it in some bushes, Thomason said.
The man, identified as Michael Aubrey Herrin, 18, of the 1300 block of Freeman Harris Road, handed over five DVDs to Thomason, the report states. Herrin said he paid for the DVDs, but Thomason said he could not produce a receipt.
During a search of Herrin, deputies said they discovered a cigarette pack containing marijuana and cocaine, the report stated.
When Deputy Joseph Anderson found the narcotics, he said, Herrin attempted to flee.
After a brief struggle, Thomason and Anderson restrained Herrin.
He was taken to the Columbia County Detention Center and charged with possession of marijuana and cocaine, obstruction or hindering a law enforcement officer and misdemeanor shoplifting, according to jail records.
He posted a combined $5,900 bond but is still being held for Richmond County authorities.
Man found in woman's home
A Martinez woman told police Sunday morning she awoke to find a strange man in her home.
The 46-year-old said she was asleep on her sofa just before 3 a.m. Sunday when she was awakened by a sound from her bedroom.
When she investigated, a man, who she said she knows only by his first name, walked out of her bedroom yelling and cursing at her, according to the incident report.
The woman said the man then left.
She told police the man apparently climbed through her window.