Police blotter
Appling woman found guilty on animal charge
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An Appling woman was banned from feeding or taking in stray cats Wednesday after being found guilty of failure to care for and maintain animals.
Columbia County Magistrate Court Judge J. Wade Padgett found Nan King, of the 2300 block of County Camp Road, guilty and ordered her to pay $50 in court costs and $212.50 in restitution to the Columbia County Animal Care and Control department.
Eighty-one cats and kittens were confiscated from King's home and property in May. Animal control officers found that many of the animals were in unsanitary and unhealthy conditions, authorities said.
Padgett said he wishes the county commission would give clearer guidelines about how many pets a person can own and the level of care.
King's attorney said King and her family paid to have her cats spayed or neutered, and a nearby resident testified that he saw King administering medical care. Her attorney said King was attempting to help the cat overpopulation problem on her property, but the county's attorney said King made the problem worse by putting pet food outside.
King pleaded not guilty to the charge June 14, but her bench trial was delayed because she requested an attorney. One of the confiscated kittens was adopted, and the other cats were euthanized because they were sick or too wild to be adopted.
Suspect released
An Evans woman who will face a second-degree vehicular homicide charge as the result of a Monday wreck that killed another Evans woman was released from the hospital Thursday.
Kelly O'Quinn, 30, of the 300 block of Thoroughbred Drive, who was ruled at fault in the two-car wreck that killed Peggy Elizabeth Taylor, 50, of the 4700 block of Walnut Hill Drive, had not been formally charged as of Thursday morning, according to jailers at the Columbia County Detention Center.
An autopsy performed Wednesday at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab in Atlanta determined Taylor died of massive multiple blunt force trauma, Columbia County Deputy Coroner Vernon Collins said.
Taylor was traveling north on Old Evans Road in a green Honda Civic when her car was struck head-on by a white Ford Crown Victoria driven by O'Quinn, Columbia County sheriff's Staff Sgt. Tim Perry said.
O'Quinn's vehicle left the road, hit a trash can on the southbound shoulder, re-entered the road and drifted into the northbound lane, where it struck the Honda, Perry said. It is believed O'Quinn suffered a seizure before the wreck, sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris said. She also will be charged with failure to maintain her lane.
The following accounts were taken from reports filed with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office:
Guns stolen
An Army military police officer told deputies Tuesday that someone stole two semiautomatic pistols from her home.
The 22-year-old from the 4200 block of Wheeler Road in Martinez told deputies a black .22-caliber pistol and a black-and-silver .380-caliber pistol were taken from a dresser in her bedroom.
Deputies reported finding no signs of forced entry.
Metals stolen
A technician for a Grovetown foundry told deputies Tuesday that someone stole a drum containing more than 600 pounds of nickel and magnesium.
The technician told deputies that someone took the drum from the rear of Georgia Iron Works at 5000 Wrightsboro Road between July 7 and early Tuesday.
The report didn't state whether the area was secured nor give a value of the loss.
Martinez car egged
A Martinez man told deputies that early Tuesday he found his car covered in eggs, a day after receiving a message from an acquaintance that he was going to throw eggs at the car.
At about 2 a.m., while on patrol in Blue Ridge Commons apartment complex, a deputy found the car owner examining damage from eggs splattered over his 1999 Dodge Intrepid.
The 25-year-old from the 500 block of Commons Drive said a Hephzibah man left a voice mail early Monday on his cellular phone threatening to egg his car.