Police blotter
The following accounts were taken from reports filed with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office:
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Mechanic watches as car is stolen from dealership
Police were called to an Evans car dealership this past week after a car was stolen from the service area.
The service adviser of Fairway Ford, 4333 Washington Road, told police Dec. 13 that a customer's Ford Taurus was taken from the service area, where it was waiting to be serviced. The vehicle, which was unlocked with the key in the ignition, was parked inside the service department gate between 1 and 1:30 p.m. when a mechanic saw the car being driven out.
The mechanic reported the incident to the service adviser, who called police.
Police contacted the vehicle's owner, who said that the car should have been at the dealership for service and that he had not taken the Taurus.
Woman reports being victim of magazine scam
An Evans woman called police to report she had been the victim of a scam.
She said she believes two young men were pulling a scam on residents of Jones Creek subdivision. The caller said that at about 2 p.m., two young men came to her home claiming to be University of Georgia students collecting money for an internship in London by selling magazines for soldiers.
The men said that they were working on an integrity program and that if she changed her mind she could call one of two phone numbers and her checks would be returned. After thinking about it, she changed her mind and called the first number, which was fake.
When she called the second number, she talked to one of the men, named Cody, who said he was close and would return her checks.
The man never returned her checks, but she had them canceled before they could be cashed.
Woman charged with shoplifting, drunkenness
An Evans woman was arrested Thursday on charges that she tried to steal beer from a grocery store.
Joanna Yerling Dille, 21, of the 110 block of Parkside Trail, was charged with public drunkenness and misdemeanor shoplifting and was being held in the Columbia County Detention Center on a $1,375 bond Tuesday, according to jail officials. Police arrested Dille after an employee of the Kroger at 4355 Washington Road in Evans who was working as a cashier at the self-service checkout line saw Dille drop a bottle of beer out of her jacket.
The cashier told deputies Dille said, "My bad," and ran out of the store. Police found Dille in a car in the parking lot drinking a beer.
Two more 12-ounce bottles of Budweiser Select were found in her vehicle.
The suspect was intoxicated and said she would pay for the beer Saturday if the store would not prosecute. She told police she was sorry and didn't know why she stole the beer.
Dille is being held in the jail for authorities in Richmond County, where she is wanted for failure to appear for traffic charges and on a probation violation, according to jail personnel.
Arson is reported at Evans construction site
An Evans developer called police Thursday after someone intentionally set a fire inside a house under construction.
The owner of Ivey Residential told police that between 5 p.m. Dec. 13 and 8:15 a.m. Thursday, someone set a fire inside an unfinished storage closet in the upstairs bedroom of a home at 2302 Amberley Pass in Evans. The fire was discovered by a contract employee who smelled smoke.
The employee said the fire went out quickly after a burst of fire flared out of the closet when he opened the door.
Inside the closet was a partially burned piece of cardboard placed over a 4-foot piece of lumber.
The inside of the closet was damaged by fire and a little smoke and soot damage was found just outside the closet door.
The site supervisor, who was the last to leave the house Dec. 13, told police that all the doors and windows were secure. Police found no forced entry into the house.
Martinez Fire Department Activity Report for the week of Dec. 10-16:
Structure fires, four; vehicle fires, two; woods fires, four; controlled burns, six; fire alarms, four; natural gas leaks, three; medical calls, 33; rescue calls, 10; and investigations, three.