Police blotter
No charges filed in July 4 boating death
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No charges will be filed in the July Fourth death of a 19-year-old Augusta man during a boating incident at Thurmond Lake, officials said Friday.
Elliott Edgars Hamilton Rivers, of Fairfield Drive, was boating with four friends when he was thrown overboard as the boat made a sharp turn near Lake Springs Park and Trade Winds Marina. Rivers never resurfaced. Divers recovered his body the next day.
"There are no charges. It's just an unfortunate incident," Georgia Department of Natural Resources Capt. Thomas Barnard said Friday.
An autopsy determined that Rivers died of blunt-force trauma to his head and back caused by the propeller, Columbia County Coroner Vernon Collins said. He said Rivers died instantly.
Sobriety tests conducted at the scene cleared the driver of boating under the influence charges, authorities said.
Man charged in thefts totaling about $100,000
A Martinez man was arrested July 10, accused of stealing about $100,000 during a three-year period from a heavy-equipment business.
Richard Alan Rogers, 56, of the 4400 block of Pereguine Place, was charged with theft by conversion and was released later that day from the Columbia County Detention Center on a $100,100 bond, according to jail records.
A co-owner of Construction Equipment Outlet LLC, of Martinez, told deputies Rogers had defrauded his business of proceeds from the sale of heavy equipment, according to a sheriff's incident report. The thefts reportedly occurred between 2003 and 2006 and totaled about $100,000, Columbia County sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris said.
The following accounts were taken from reports filed with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office:
Cashier arrested on theft-by-taking charge
A cashier at an Evans department store was arrested Friday, accused of repeatedly stealing money from his register.
Kenneth Flythe Jr., 19, of the 600 block of Low Meadow Drive, is charged with theft by taking. He was released Saturday from the Columbia County Detention Center after posting $2,600 bond.
A loss-prevention manager at Target on Washington Road told deputies he saw Flythe take $200 from his register Friday, and had seen him take money on at least eight other occasions. The manager said Flythe was suspected of stealing about $1,000.
Woman tells police her house was videotaped
A Grovetown woman called deputies Saturday after she saw a woman videotaping her residence.
The 36-year-old from the 5100 block of Blue-grass Trail said she saw a woman drive past her home several times and later spotted the woman with a video camera walking around her backyard.
When deputies arrived, the intruder, a 40-year-old North Augusta resident, was parked across the street watching the home. She told deputies she was there because she suspected the woman was her estranged husband's new girlfriend.
The North Augusta woman said she was watching the home and filming to catch her estranged husband cheating on her. No charges were filed because the resident refused to prosecute.
Maryland man charged with traffic violations
A Hampstead, Md., man was arrested in Martinez early Sunday on obstruction and traffic charges, including driving under the influence.
Jamie Michael Burley, 33, remained in the Columbia County Detention Center Tuesday morning on $8,700 bond. Burley also faces a charge of reckless driving, driving on a suspended license, fleeing and attempting to elude, and duty upon striking an unattended vehicle.
A deputy tried to stop a white 1989 Chevrolet Blazer along Belair Frontage Road after seeing it strike a median along Jimmie Dyess Parkway. The sport utility vehicle did not stop, and turned into a nearby Econo Lodge at high speed.
The SUV hit two curbs and a parked car before stopping in the motel parking lot. Burley then ran away but was tackled and taken into custody.
Man injured in fight at Martinez home
A 34-year-old Martinez man told deputies Sunday that he had suffered a head injury and lost teeth during a fight involving a baseball bat at a Martinez residence.
The Quinn Drive resident went with a friend to a residence on Colonial Road and got into an argument with a 34-year-old Augusta man. The men went outside to fight, and the Augustan grabbed a baseball bat and hit him in the face, according to witness statements in the incident report.
The men fought on the ground, and the Martinez man grabbed the bat and shattered the windshield of a van belonging to the Augusta man. The Martinez man and his friend went to an Augusta hospital.
The Augusta man, a resident of McDaniel Road, told deputies the Martinez man taunted him when he arrived at the residence. He left the house and hit the visitor in the face with the bat outside the residence.
Fire department report
Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue report for July 8-14:
Structure fires, six; wood/brush/grass fires, four; vehicle fires, five; controlled/unauthorized burn, one; activated fire alarm, 12; gas line ruptures, two; hazardous materials, one; medical incidents, 19; vehicle accidents, five; rescue incident, one; inclement weather damage, two; electrical incident, one; assist residents, two; and investigate various incidents, three.