Police blotter
Three men arrested in hotel robbery
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The last of three men has been arrested in connection with the New Year's Eve robbery of a Martinez hotel.
Police arrested Patrick Legarde Doughty, 18, at his Martinez home Tuesday, according to sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris. He was charged with armed robbery and is being held in the Columbia County Detention Center without bond.
Also charged were a Martinez 15-year-old boy and Teron Deangelo Dowds, 18, of Augusta. They were arrested this month in connection to the robbery and beating of a pizza delivery driver. They also face armed robbery charges and are being held without bond. The 15-year-old is being held at the Regional Youth Detention Center.
The clerk of the Georgia Inn Hotel at 434 S. Belair Road told police that just after noon on Dec. 31 two men entered the hotel office with a handgun and demanded she open the cash drawer. As she opened the drawer, one of the men went behind the counter and reached into the drawer while the other pointed the gun at her and reached across.
The clerk said the men left with the money on foot, headed toward a nearby apartment complex.
Evans teen accused in rape of 54-year-old
Police charged an Evans teen with the rape of a 54-year-old mute woman.
Michael Alvin Hawes, 16, of the 4500 block of Cox Road, was charged with felony rape, according to a Richmond County sheriff's report.
The woman's sister told police she arrived at her sister's home Monday afternoon and found her crying and pointing to her backside, according to a police report. Through a series of questions, the victim's sister was able to determine that Hawes had raped her, according to the report.
While deputies were questioning the women, Hawes reportedly arrived and was arrested. Hawes later admitted to having sex with the woman but said she initiated the contact, something she later denied.
Driver gets 12-year term
A Columbia County man whose drunken-driving crash partially paralyzed a driver was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in prison.
William Ogletree, 29, pleaded guilty in Richmond County Superior Court to serious injury by vehicle, reckless driving and driving under the influence for the Oct. 5, 2006, crash. He will have five years to serve on probation when he completes his prison sentence.
Larry Batchelor Jr. still cannot walk unassisted, and if the next surgery is unsuccessful, he will lose his lower left leg.
Ogletree was arrested on charges of fleeing from law enforcement, DUI and possession of marijuana Dec. 1, two days after he was released on bond for the other case.
The following accounts were taken from reports provided by the Columbia County Sheriff's Office:
Stolen ID used for phone
An Evans man called deputies Tuesday after discovering someone used his personal information to run up a nearly $7,800 phone bill in his name.
He said he got a letter from an AT&T phone company collection agency, which stated he owed $7,786.29 to the company for services provided between Jan. 1 and Aug. 2, 2007. He said the letter was an attempt to collect the unpaid bill.
After further investigation, he said he realized a Valdosta, Ga., man had used his Social Security number to open the account without his permission.
Boat business is shot
Deputies responded to an Evans boat store Monday after a store representative reported the building had been shot.
The man said that between 3 p.m. Jan. 12 and 3 p.m. Monday, someone shot a hole through the storefront of The Boat Center at 4751 Washington Road.
Cash taken from closet
An Evans man said Mon-day that he discovered that $12,000 was missing from a lock-box in his closet.
There was nothing else missing from the home and no signs of forced entry into the home or the lock box.
The resident said only two people knew about the box -- his two adults sons, who also live in his home.