Police blotter
Martinez woman found dead in pool
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Columbia County authorities are awaiting results of a toxicology test to determine what led to the drowning Wednesday of a Martinez woman.
Columbia County sheriff's investigators say Donna Boyd, 44, was a resident of Ridge Crossing Apartments, off Belair Road near Interstate 20. A member of the maintenance staff found her at about 8:30 a.m. at the bottom of the apartment complex's pool.
Columbia County Deputy Coroner Bonnie King said an autopsy performed Thursday at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab in Augusta revealed that Boyd drowned.
Authorities say foul play is not suspected. Toxicology results should be complete in six to eight weeks, King said.
Harbin court date on DUI delayed
State Rep. Ben Harbin's arraignment in Atlanta Municipal Court on drunken-driving charges, scheduled for Friday, was delayed until next month.
The Evans Republican, who serves as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence early May 20 in Atlanta after his car hit a utility pole.
Harbin's attorney, Robert Highsmith, said the city solicitor's office requested the schedule change.
The following accounts were taken from reports filed with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office:
Augustan charged in theft of vehicle
Deputies arrested a passenger during a traffic stop Monday on a charge of theft by receiving stolen property after discovering the vehicle he was riding in was stolen.
Jessee Lee Hawes, Jr., 33, of Winchester Court in Augusta, was being held Friday without bond at the Columbia County Detention Center.
Hawes was riding in a 2003 Honda Accord driven by an Evans man when the vehicle was pulled over on Washington Road for having an expired tag.
A check of the license plate revealed that the car had been stolen from an Augusta woman. After interviewing the men, deputies arrested Hawes and released the driver.
Grovetown man beaten during party
A Grovetown man told deputies Monday he was beaten at a party in a Harlem field a few days earlier.
The 20-year-old from North Willowick Drive said he was beaten during a party that occurred in a field off Gay Road sometime Aug. 17 or 18. The man told deputies that a crowd of people jumped on him, which separated his jaw, severed nerves and loosened teeth.
The man, who had a noticeably swollen jaw, said he did not seek medical attention until Monday. No descriptions of the assailants were included in the incident report.
Martinez woman reports harassment
A Martinez woman told deputies Monday that a man had accosted her and damaged her car at a store.
The 20-year-old said the man had followed her vehicle when she pulled into the lot of Wal-Mart on Bobby Jones Expressway on Aug. 18. He followed her into the store, cursing.
She said she sought help from a store employee. Later, after the man left, she returned to her Nissan Maxima and found key marks on it.