Police Blotter
The following accounts were taken from reports filed with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office:
Armed robbery reported at gas station
A Grovetown gas station clerk told police that a man pointed a gun at her Friday as he attempted to drive away from the pump without paying for his gas.
The clerk told police the driver of an Oldsmobile Cutlass pumped $42.05 in premium gas into the car at the TPS at 499 Lewiston Road at about 5:30 p.m. and started to drive away.
The clerk went outside to confront the driver. As she reached the driver's side of the car, the driver pointed a gun at her and told her to get away.
Investigators traced a tag number that the clerk got to an Evans residence, but they discovered that the registered owner of the car had moved out in April.
Man robbed in driveway
A Martinez man told police he was attacked and robbed Sunday as he got out of his car in his driveway.
The man told police that he pulled into his driveway in the 1000 block of Hampstead Place between 10:30 and 11:15 p.m. Sunday and that two men attacked him, beat him and stole his wallet, which contained $25, his driver's license, a credit card and an insurance card.
The man's wife said she saw her husband's car pull in the driveway and saw the garage door open. She said she became concerned when her husband didn't come inside right away. When she looked out a second-floor window, she saw a small gray-blue four-door car. When she opened a door leading to the garage, she saw two men attacking her husband. She said the men ran toward the car and she called 911.
The homeowner said he was hit in the face during the attack; police found his nose bleeding and swollen. He was taken to Medical College of Georgia Hospital for treatment.
Inmate charged in jail cell damage
A man being held without bond in the Columbia County Detention Center on an armed robbery charge earned two more charges after he damaged a jail cell July 26.
Adrian Villanueva, 19, was charged with criminal damage to property in the second degree and inter-ference with government property after he damaged a sprinkler head and smoke detector head in the cell, according to jail records. Police heard a hissing from the cell only minutes after Villanueva was put there and found him standing against the back wall being showered by oily water gushing from a broken sprinkler head.
Villanueva was arrested by Columbia County and Richmond County officers in April at a Greyhound bus station after he and two other men were accused of leading Aiken County police on a chase that ended with shots being fired at the deputies. Villanueva's charges, before the recent incident, in Columbia County include false report of a crime, possession of a firearm, simple assault, simple battery and armed robbery of a residence with a gun, according to jail records. Villanueva is being held without bond, jail personnel stated. Damage to the cell was estimated at $650 for the sprinkler head, fire/smoke detector and his clothes and several blankets ruined in the incident and clean-up, the report stated.
Martinez Fire Department Activity Report for the week of July 24-30:
Structure fires, 10; grass fires, two; vehicle fires, three; controlled burns, three; fire alarms, 23; carbon monoxide alarms, two; natural gas leaks, two; hazardous material, one; medical calls, 22; rescue calls, 11; investigations, 11; public service, four, and other, 13.