Police Blotter

A fire caused by a bird's nest on a light fixture caused minor damage to a Brandon Wilde cottage Saturday.

Units from Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue were called to the Evans retirement community about 6 p.m. and discovered a small fire on the exterior of the structure, said Honey Shore, the department's public information officer.

Firefighters determined the blaze started when the heat of an exterior light fixture ignited a nest built on top of it, Shore said.

The fire caused minor damage to the exterior siding of the building and possibly some minor smoke damage to the interior, she said.

No one was home at the time of the incident and no injuries were reported, Shore said.

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

Reckless conduct

An Appling man told police a fellow motorist fired a pistol after driving recklessly Thursday evening.

The man said he was driving west on Washington Road near William Few Parkway when a dark-colored vehicle quickly approached from behind just before 9 p.m., in what the driver felt was an attempt to force him to drive faster. As the motorist turned onto Cobbham Road, he told deputies, the other driver almost forced him off the road before passing his car recklessly.

The man told police he tried to catch up to the car to get the tag number, but the other driver fired three or four shots into the air from a handgun and continued driving toward Ray Owens Road. Police responded but could not locate the other vehicle.

Theft by taking

Police responded early Thursday to the home of a Harlem man who said a man he hired had stolen his van.

The man told police he had hired a man to help him with home repairs. The worker was going to spend the night at his home.

When the homeowner awoke at 1:40 a.m., he saw his white 1998 Ford Econoline van being driven away and discovered the man he hired was missing, along with two cell phones. The van contained the self-employed homeowner's tools.

Obstruction, public drunkenness

An Evans woman was arrested Thursday and charged with public drunkenness and obstruction of an officer.

Columbia County Deputy Mike Barrett responded to the parking lot of Bi-Lo at 4480 Columbia Road to investigate a report of a woman throwing something from a vehicle window. Barrett reported that he found April Dawn Warner, 30, of the 400 block of Blue Ridge Drive, tossing beer bottles out the window of a Ford truck and breaking them. When Warner got out of the truck, deputies suspected she was intoxicated.

As Deputy Steven Leathers was talking to Warner, she became combative and was placed on the ground and arrested. Warner got several cuts from the broken glass on the ground; Barrett received cuts on seven fingers and his eyeglasses were bent.

Barrett and Warner were treated at the scene, and Warner was taken to the Columbia County Detention Center, where she was charged with public drunkenness and obstruction or hindering of a police officer. Warner was released Friday after posting a $3,700 bond, according to jail personnel.

Martinez Fire Department Activity Report for the week of Oct. 9-15:

Structure fires, two; ve-hicle fire, one, controlled burns, two; fire alarms, seven; medical calls, sev-en, rescue calls, seven; investigations, five; and public service, one.