Police Blotter
Man charged in wreck that takes toddler's life
A Grovetown man faces vehicular homicide charges after a Tuesday night wreck that killed a Grovetown toddler.
Morris Edward Perkins, 58, of the 4600 block of Eisenview Drive in Grovetown, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence and vehicular homicide after the Dodge pickup he was in struck the back of a stopped car on Interstate 20 between the Wheeler and Belair roads exits, Columbia County sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris said.
Eighteen-month-old Taylor Brooklyn Hegre, of Dodge Lane in Grovetown, was killed when she was ejected from the parked Pontiac Grand Am belonging to her mother, Casey Hegre, 19.
The wreck occurred at about 8:40 p.m. Tuesday when Hegre's car ran out of gas and stopped in the right westbound lane, Morris said. Hegre turned on the hazard lights and was getting out to move the vehicle when it was struck from behind, police say.
Hegre and two other passengers received only minor injuries.
Hegre could face charges in the wreck pending the outcome of an investigation concerning whether the child's safety seat was properly strapped to the rear seat, Morris said.
Perkins was released from the Columbia County Detention Center on Wednesday afternoon after posting a $11,200 bond, jail personnel said.
The following accounts were taken from reports filed with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office:
Student arrested on public indecency
An Evans High School student was arrested on a charge of public indecency Tuesday afternoon after police say the student was seen urinating in the parking lot of a Washington Road fast-food restaurant.
Columbia County sheriff's deputies arrested 17-year-old Brandon Maurice Coachman, of the 4500 block of Hickory Drive, after eyewitnesses at the scene described the young man and a black Ford Mustang he was riding in and reported the vehicle's tag number to police, according to a police report.
An employee of the Chick-fil-A at 4201 Washington Road in Evans said she saw a man step out of the Mustang while in the drive-through lane of the restaurant, according to the report.
Though she said the actions were obscured from her view, other witnesses told police Coachman was urinating in the parking lot. Coachman was released Tuesday from Columbia County Detention Center on a $600 bond, according to police.
Truck stolen from Grovetown business
The manager of a Grovetown business told police Monday morning that a company truck had been stolen.
Between 5 p.m. Oct. 7 and 9:30 a.m. Monday, a white 2004 Ford F-350 pickup with green lettering was taken from an attached workshop at Dixie Meter and Service Co., on Lewiston Road, according to a sheriff's office report.
The truck, painted with the company name, is valued at $35,000, according to the report. The manager told police the vehicle was secured in the workshop and there were no signs of forced entry.
Checks reported stolen from landscaping business
The owner of an Evans landscaping business on Monday reported the theft of checks from the company checkbook.
Five checks were reportedly taken from Curb Appeal Landscaping Services of Windmill Lake Drive between Sept. 25 and Oct. 7.
Three of the checks were cashed without authorization, according to a sheriff's office report. The cashed checks totaled $712.