Police Blotter

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

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Man found in house

Police arrested an Augusta man Thursday after they found him living in a Martinez home while the owners were away.

During a patrol, a Columbia County sheriff's deputy noticed lights on inside the house on Glenora Court in Martinez at 7:45 p.m. As he was checking the backyard, Theodore Wesley Black Jr., 29, went out the back door.

Black said he was homeless and had been staying at the house without the owner's permission. Police contacted the owner, who said she would prosecute; Black was arrested and taken to the Columbia County Detention Center.

A Honda Accord belonging to Black was parked in front of the house, but the tag was from a Dodge Omni owned by an Augusta man, who apparently had not reported it stolen.

Black, who was charged with criminal trespass, re-mained in jail Tuesday on $1,100 bond, according to jail personnel.

Bogus money reported

A Martinez man called police Friday to report that he had been given counterfeit money.

The 20-year-old man said that at 7:30 p.m., a man had approached him in the parking lot of Wal-Mart at 260 Bobby Jones Expressway in Martinez, asking for change for two $20 bills. The man gave the stranger four $10 bills for the $20s and went into the store.

Later, the man tried to use one of the bills to pay for merchandise at a Circle K store, where he was told it was counterfeit. Police said that both $20 bills had the same serial number and no security tape inside the paper.

The man who provided the counterfeit bills was last seen at the Wal-Mart walking toward Richmond County.

Rejected man slams door

Clerks of a Grovetown convenience store called police Sept. 20 after a man damaged the front door after being denied beer.

Two clerks at The Pumping Station, 499 Lewiston Road, told police that just after 8 p.m. a man who appeared to be intoxicated tried to buy two bottles of beer.

When asked for identification to prove his age, the man showed a driver's license, but his date of birth was unreadable. The clerks said that when they asked his birthday, the customer said he couldn't remember, so they refused to sell him beer.

The clerks said that when the man left, he slammed open the door, damaging the hinges, then left a white utility truck.

Wheels stolen from vehicle

The manager of a Martinez car dealership reported to police Saturday that someone had stolen the wheels from a car on the lot.

The manager of Master Pontiac Buick GMC, 3710 Washington Road, said that between 7:30 p.m. Thursday and 7:30 a.m. Friday, someone had stolen the four billet-style wheels and BF Goodrich tires from a 2002 Ford Mustang. The manager said the thief put the car on concrete blocks.

The manager said the dealership has security cameras, but they do not record.