Police blotter
State legislator charged with DUI after Atlanta car crash
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State Rep. Ben Harbin, R-Evans, was arrested on charges of driving under the influence after the car he was driving struck a utility pole Sunday morning in downtown Atlanta.
Police say Harbin, who was alone in his car, crashed into the pole at about 1 a.m.. He was not seriously injured.
Harbin, the state's House Appropriations Committee chairman, was charged with driving under the influence based on a field sobriety test, according to an Atlanta Police Department spokesman. Harbin was released from jail that morning shortly after arriving after he was checked at a hospital.
I-20 wreck closes lanes, sends woman to hospital
A wreck early Monday on Interstate 20 in Columbia County closed eastbound lanes for about an hour and sent a 24-year-old Augusta woman to the hospital in fair condition.
The one-vehicle accident was reported at 3:10 a.m. near the Lewiston Road overpass after Sherunda Patrice Johnson, of the 1900 block of Morning Drive, lost control of her 1999 Ford Contour, according to a Columbia County sheriff's accident report.
Johnson was taken to Medical College of Georgia Hospital and was listed in fair condition Tuesday morning, a hospital spokeswoman said.
According to the report, Johnson was driving east in the outside lane when she lost control of the sedan and it spun counterclockwise, crossed the inside lane and hit the south shoulder guardrail. It overturned while hurtling back across both lanes and struck the north shoulder guardrail. The car damaged 75 feet of guardrail, according to the report.
Authorities search for armed-robbery suspect
Columbia County police said Monday they are looking for a man who they suspect in seven robberies throughout the area.
The most recent robbery was at the Kangaroo Express on South Belair Road in Martinez just after 11 a.m. Sunday, according to a Columbia County Sheriff's Office report. A worker said the man took a candy bar to the checkout counter, raised his shirt and showed a knife. The robber demanded that the register be emptied.
Just before 8 p.m. Friday, police say, the man robbed the Walgreens on Washington Road in Martinez. A worker told police the robber had asked for a pack of cigarettes and then pulled out a handgun and demanded money. A witness said the robber left on a black motorcycle with saddle bags and a large windshield.
The robber was described as white, 6 feet tall, with short brown hair and a balding spot. Anyone with information can call the Columbia County Sheriff's Office at (706) 541-2800.
The following accounts were taken from reports filed with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office:
Evans High School is vandalized on final day
The campus safety officer at Evans High School called police Friday to report vandalism outside the school on the last day of classes for Columbia County students.
The officer told police that between 3 and 4 a.m., someone spray-painted curse words on the front left section of the school building at 4550 Cox Road. The officer also reported that "for sale" signs had been placed around the school.
The officer said surveillance footage of the incident was too dark to identify the vandals.
Martinez man arrested on indecency charge
A Martinez man was arrested Friday night after a woman called police to report that he was inappropriately touching himself in the parking lot of a Martinez gas station.
Early Saturday morning, Matthew Aaron Akins, 19, of the 200 block of Kestwick Drive West, was taken to the Columbia County Detention Center, where he was charged with public indecency and possession of alcohol by a minor, according to jail records.
A Martinez woman had called police just after midnight to report that she had seen the man masturbating inside a car in the parking lot of Sprint Gas Station at 424 S. Belair Road. When police arrived, Akins was in the store and said he was just buying a drink.
Police detected a strong odor of alcohol coming from Akins, who registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.166 on a handheld sensor. Akins was released from the jail early Saturday morning after posting a $6,200 bond, according to jail records.
Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue Activity Report for May 13-19:
Structure fires, three; wood/brush/grass fires, eight; other fires, two; controlled/unauthorized burns, seven; activated fire alarms; 12; gas line rupture, one; electrical incident, one; medical incidents, 19; vehicle accidents, 16; investigate various incidents, eight; and assist residents, four.