Police blotter
The following accounts were taken from reports filed with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office:
Theft by deception reported at store
A cashier for an Evans Dollar General store told police Saturday a man deceived and confused her to steal $50.
The 21-year-old cashier for the store at 4388 Washington Road in Evans, said that about 5:15 p.m. Saturday a man gave her a $50 bill to pay for an item in the store. The cashier said the man then asked for his money back because he didn't want the item anymore.
The man then began giving the cashier different bills asking for change, while complaining the service was slow. The cashier told police in the midst of the confusion, the man took $50.
Counterfeit checks reported at Wal-Mart
The accounting manager for the Evans Wal-Mart told police last week that someone had written eight counterfeit checks since mid-January.
The manager of the Wal-Mart at 4471 Washington Road said someone presented eight checks between Jan. 15 and Jan. 26 for merchandise totaling more than $1,500. The manager said the banks returned all eight checks marked "account not found" or counterfeit.
Six of the eight were personal checks written on a fictitious Bank of America account. The other two were Steak-Out payroll checks written on Chase Manahattan bank.
Store sign damaged
An employee of Augusta Harley-Davidson told police Friday someone ripped up and moved an entrance sign.
The sales manager said someone used a vehicle, possibly a dual-wheeled truck, to pull up a one-by-four-foot steel sign and frame from the east entrance of the Harley-Davidson dealer at 4200 Belair-Frontage Road in Augusta. The black and orange sign, which read "Customer Entrance" and had the Harley-Davidson logo on it, was dragged 100 yards west on Belair-Frontage Road before it was abandoned.
Evans man reports sweepstakes deception
An Evans retiree told police Thursday he was deceived into wiring more than $2,000 to a man claiming to need the money to deliver sweepstakes winnings to the Evans man.
The 76-year-old Evans retiree said he received a call Feb. 7 from "Ralph Klein," who said he had won sweepstakes worth $1.6 million and gave the Evans man a phone number to call. The man called the number and was told to wire $2,812 in his son's name to Montreal, Canada, to cover the cost of the courier delivering the check.
The Evans man said someone picked up the wire transfer in Lavelle, Quebec, Canada, on Feb. 8, but he has not seen a check for the sweepstakes winnings.
Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue Activity Report for the week of Feb. 5-11:
Structure fires, three; woods fire, one; grass fires, two; vehicle fire, one; controlled burn, one; fire alarms, eight; carbon monoxide, one; medical calls, five; rescue calls, 10; investigations, five; public service, one; and other, two.