Police Blotter
Columbia Middle pupil charged with arson
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A Columbia Middle School sixth-grader was charged Tuesday with first-degree arson after she set fire to paper towels and threatened to burn the school down, sheriff's deputies said.
The 12-year-old was ignited the towels in a girls' bathroom and told another pupil she was going to set fire to the building, Columbia County sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris said.
The other pupil warned teachers, who subdued the pupil, Morris said. The girl was taken to the Regional Youth Detention Center, where a hearing was conducted Wednesday.
She was released to the custody of her parents later Wednesday. No injury or property damage was reported in the incident, Morris said.
School Deputy Superintendent Sandra Carraway said the system will hold a disciplinary hearing by Nov. 10 to determine punishment.
The student faces extended suspension or expulsion under the school system's student code of conduct, Carraway said.
The following accounts were taken from reports filed with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office.
N. Augustan jailed on shoplifting charge
A North Augusta man was arrested Monday after an employee of a Martinez drugstore suspected him of shoplifting.
Michael Elvis Pica, 34, of East Buena Vista Avenue, was charged with shoplifting. He remained in the Columbia County Detention Center on Friday on an $1,100 bond and a probation hold.
An employee of Walgreens at Washington Road and Bobby Jones Expressway told deputies she saw Pica remove a miniature speaker system from its packaging and place it into his pants pocket. The employee found the speakers, the packaging, scissors and a knife on another aisle before deputies arrived.
While deputies were patting down Pica for weapons, paperwork for a MP3 player fell out of his pants leg. Deputies discovered an MP3 player in his pants.
Worker reports money in her bra is missing
An employee of an Evans factory told deputies Monday that she believes that someone took $600 she had misplaced at work.
The 30-year-old Martinez woman said she went to work at Quebecor World on Evans to Locks Road with $600 concealed in her bra. When she went on break to buy a candy bar, she took the money from her bra and put it into her pocket.
When she went to lunch, she noticed the money was missing.
Evans man reports residential burglary
An Evans man told deputies Monday that someone broke into his home and stole cash and jewelry.
The 61-year-old from Woodstone Way said he returned home about 6:20 p.m. and found the rear door open and the house ransacked. Someone had gone through several rooms in his home.
He said $100 and several items of jewelry were taken from one of the bedrooms.