Police Blotter
Trucker faces charges in Lincolnton man's death
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A Norcross, Ga., man is expected to be charged with vehicular homicide after a Lincolnton man seriously injured in a March 16 collision died last week.
Police obtained a vehicular homicide arrest warrant Monday for Joseph Triola, 26, who was charged at fault in the wreck and was cited for failure to maintain lane, said Columbia County sheriff's Maj. Rick Whitaker.
Triola, driving a Controlled Blasting Inc. truck, was turning left from Columbia Road onto Appling-Harlem Highway.
Police say Triola drove the flatbed truck carrying explosive material into the path of a van driven by Thomas Poss, 74, of Lincolnton, and the vehicles collided.
Poss, who had to be extricated and was airlifted to Medical College of Georgia Hospital, died Thursday.
The following accounts were taken from reports filed with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office.
Teens arrested on arms charges outside grocery
Two Columbia County teens were arrested on weapons charges late Friday in the parking lot of a Martinez grocery store.
Ryan Alexander Bennett, 17, of the 4500 block of Crown Mill Court, Martinez, faces a charge of possession of a pistol by a person under 18. He was released from the Columbia County Detention Center on Saturday on $1,100 bond.
Deshawn Lee Shelton, 18, of the 4700 block of Martha's Way, Grovetown, is charged with carrying a concealed weapon. He was released from jail Saturday on $1,100 bond.
Deputies responded to a report of two males pointing a gun at three other males at the Wendy's at 443 S. Belair Road. Deputies caught up to Bennett and Shelton at the nearby Food Lion and found a BB gun resembling a Glock pistol, a loaded 9 mm handgun and a loaded clip in their vehicle.
Two shoplifters make off with cosmetics, patio set
A manager and two clerks at a Martinez drugstore told deputies Friday that two shoplifters made off with a patio set, several bottles of perfume and condoms from the store the previous week.
Employees of the CVS Pharmacy in the 4400 block of Columbia Road said they saw the shoplifters take six bottles of heartburn medication, the patio set, cosmetics, seven bottles of perfume, the condoms and personal lubricant from the store March 27. The store provided surveillance video to deputies.
Evans woman startles beer snatcher in garage
An Evans woman told deputies Friday morning that she interrupted a man foraging through her garage refrigerator.
The 42-year-old Newland Circle resident said she found the man in her open garage rummaging through the refrigerator at about 9:30 a.m. The woman yelled at the man, who took a 12-ounce can of Miller Lite and left in a black sport utility vehicle driven by a second person.
No description of the thief was given.
Martinez Evans Fire-Rescue activity report, March 25-31:
Structure fires, five; wood/brush/grass fires, four; vehicle fire, one; controlled/unauthorized burns, three; activated fire alarms, seven; gas line rupture, one; medical incidents, 22; vehicle accidents, 10; investigations, eight; assist residents, one; and other incidents, four.