Police blotter
The following accounts were taken from reports filed with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office:
Police searching for sex offender
Police say they are looking for a convicted sex offender who has not made contact with his parole officer and has not lived in his listed residence since December.
Cedric L. Skillern, 23, with a listed address in the 500 block of Tubman Road, in Appling, who was convicted of statutory rape, is believed to still be in Columbia County, sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris said.
Skillern's family told police they do not know where he is currently living.
Martinez man accused of stealing bicycle
A Martinez man was charged with theft by taking Monday after he was accused of stealing a bicycle from the front porch of a Martinez residence.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 20, of the 500 block of Crystal Creek Way, was charged with theft by taking and released from the Columbia County Detention Center on Monday night on $1,100 bond.
The owner of the Villa Lane home where the bicycle was taken told police she heard a noise coming from the front of the house and saw Abdul-Jabbar take her Royce Union bicycle from the porch.
The woman told police she confronted the 20-year-old about 10 minutes later when he came riding in front of her home on the bicycle and told him to "bring (her) bike back; I've already called the police."
The woman told police Abdul-Jabbar got off the bike and fled on foot. Police later stopped him.
Lawn equipment stolen from storage trailers
A Martinez man and a Knightdale, N.C., woman told police Monday morning that someone stole thousands of dollars in lawn care equipment from two trailers at an Evans landscaping company.
The theft occurred at All South Lawn and Landscaping in the 4000 block of Evans to Locks Road sometime between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning.
Police found that the locks to the two trailers were cut. Items taken from trailers included several leaf blowers, trimmers and edgers valued at $4,525.
Martinez man finds pistol in kitchen
A Martinez man told police Sunday he found a pistol and ammunition in his kitchen that did not belong to him.
When he returned home from out of town, the man told police the Lorcin L380 pistol was sitting on the kitchen counter of his home on the 3500 block of Stevens Way.
The man told police he had never seen the gun before and didn't know who the gun belongs to or where it came from.
A check of the gun's serial number revealed the weapon had been reported stolen in Miami on Jan. 18, 1992.
The weapon was turned over to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.