Police blotter

The following accounts were taken from reports filed with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office:

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Augusta woman arrested on false crime report

A 23-year-old Augusta woman was arrested Thursday after police say she called Columbia County 911 to report a crime that turned out to be false.

Shonda Lynnette Samuels, of Fox Trace, was charged with false report of a crime and was being held Tuesday at the Columbia County Detention Center on $1,600 bond.

Deputies responded to a Grovetown home about 8:30 a.m. after a woman reported she had been assaulted in the home and had locked herself inside a closet.

When deputies arrived at the Wendover Way residence, the 58-year-old homeowner told deputies he and his nephew were the only people inside the house.

Deputies searched the residence and verified his story. The Grovetown man told deputies Samuels had called him earlier to tell him she had a surprise for him.

He said he did not know she intended to call police. When deputies spoke to Samuels again she admitted to making a false report and was arrested.

Evans man reports falling for lottery scam

An Evans man told deputies Thursday his bank informed him that a "lottery" he thought he'd won was actually part of a scam.

The 22-year-old from Saddle Circle said he received a letter on Aug. 28 from a Canadian company informing him he'd won $170,000. Enclosed in the letter was a check for $4,280.15.

A woman with the company told the Evans man to deposit the check and wire $2,900 to a woman in Orlando, Fla., to pay off taxes accrued on the winnings.

The man said he wired the money, called the company again and was told to wire $980 more to a woman in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

The man said he became suspicious and notified his bank of the incident. A bank representative told the man the original check was fraudulent and part of a scam.

Evans man files theft by deception report

An Evans man filed a theft by deception report Wednesday against a Philadelphia company that he says took nearly $35,000 in investment money after he signed a distribution deal and hasn't communicated with him since.

The 57-year-old from Whittington's Ridge told deputies he and his wife signed an agreement July 25 to distribute greeting cards for the company at 20 area retail locations. He said he wired an installment of $17,450 to the firm the next day and a final payment of the same amount a few weeks later.

The man said a company representative was supposed to arrive in Evans Aug. 14 to help locate retail outlets to sell the cards, but didn't show up.

The Evans man said he received the greeting cards and sales racks, but has been unable to contact anyone with the company beyond a receptionist since the company received his payments.

Portable classroom vandalized at Westmont

An assistant principal at Westmont Elementary School told deputies Aug. 27 someone vandalized a portable classroom.

The school official told deputies she discovered someone had entered an unsecured portable classroom on the Oakley-Pirkle Road campus and discharged the unit's fire extinguisher throughout the room. The vandals also stole candy from the teacher's desk and turned the heat on inside the classroom.

The subjects entered a second unsecured portable classroom, emptied a container of dental floss on the teacher's desk, rummaged through a makeup bag and stole two bottles of tea.