Police Blotter

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

Man realizes his truck was stolen

A Thomson man told Columbia County authorities on Monday that the truck he owned for four years was stolen when he bought it from someone in Columbia County.

The truck owner said he took his 1984 Chevrolet Silverado pickup to Weeks Transmission Service on Jones Street in Augusta in April. The truck's original owner, who reported it stolen four years ago, saw the truck sitting in the parking lot and contacted the Richmond County Sheriff's Office, according to a sheriff's office incident report. The truck was discovered stolen through Aiken County.

The truck owner said he bought the truck from a Martinez woman for $5,000 in November 2001 and drove it for four years without having it serviced. He said he had no idea the truck was stolen until he received a call from a Richmond County sheriff's investigator, the report stated. The truck owner provided a copy of the truck's bill of sale and the $5,000 payment check.

Hundreds of pipes reported stolen

A customer service representative of Columbia Sheet Metal told police Tuesday that someone stole several hundred 22-foot pieces of pipe from a construction site Monday night.

The representative said someone went to a construction site at 4190 Mullikin Road and stole 500 22-foot-long copper pipes from an unsecured and unfinished room on the site, according to a sheriff's office incident report.

The pipes were valued at $2,000.

Woman is arrested on theft charges

An Augusta woman was in the Columbia County Detention Center on charges of theft by taking and theft by deception Monday after being arrested at the Evans Super Wal-Mart, where she worked as a cashier.

Tara Kay Ganus, 30, of the 2200 block of Bungalwo Road in Augusta, was arrested after a loss prevention officer for the 4471 Washington Road store told police Ganus had stolen cash, groceries and gift cards from the store between April 17 and Monday, according to a sheriff's office incident report. The officer said Ganus took $22 cash from the register, two $20 gift cards and more than $60 worth of assorted groceries on several dates. The officer also told police Ganus overcharged two customers - one by $10 and one by $15 - while they were checking out at her register and put the money on a gift card that she used later, the report stated.

When confronted about the thefts, Ganus admitted to the crimes and wrote a written confession, according to the report. Ganus was being held Friday on a verbal hold by her Columbia County probation officer. Both customers were reimbursed, the report stated.