Police blotter

A charge of rape against a former Lakeside High School wrestler in Chattanooga, Tenn., has been dismissed.

The district attorney's office of Hamilton County dropped the charge against Justin Otis, 19, a wrestler at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, in light of an examination of the case.

"The eyewitness accounts and the toxicology results did not weigh in favor of proving he committed the offense of rape,'' Barry Steelman, the executive assistant district attorney for Hamilton County, said Tuesday. "Therefore, we asked the court to dismiss the case without proof.''

Jerry Summers, the lawyer representing Otis, said that the charge was false and that the accuser "got caught in the act of indiscretion and tried to blame somebody else on it.''

The incident was reported to campus police at UT Chattanooga on Nov. 28. The 17-year-old woman had told campus police she went to a dorm room to check on a friend, was offered a drink there and blacked out. She told police she thought she had been drugged and woke up naked, and said Otis had raped her.

Summers said the girl actually visited the dorm room with an 18-year-old female friend and four men there. He said the girls then went to a liquor store and used a fake ID to purchase vodka.

Summers said the girls returned to the dorm and the accuser began enticing Otis while the other girl had sex with multiple partners.

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

Online identity theft

An Augusta man told police Monday someone stole his debit card and used it to open numerous eBay accounts.

The man said he contacted eBay and was told that the accounts had been opened in his name and that several purchases had been made with his debit card. The man said the account has been closed and a file was being set up with Georgia Bank & Trust in reference to the incident, which occurred between 8 p.m. Jan. 23 and 11 a.m. Monday.

The theft total is $1,300.

Burglary reported

A Martinez man found his grandfather's residence broken into Tuesday.

The man, who lives in the 300 block of Furys Ferry Road with his 79-year-old grandfather, said someone kicked in the front door, damaging the doorknob and lock.

The estimated value of damage was $870.

Counterfeit bill found

Police say a counterfeit $20 bill was discovered at an Evans store Tuesday.

A woman who was shopping at Wal-Mart in Evans said she received the bill as a tip at Coconuts night club in Augusta, where she works.

The incident is under investigation.

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