Police Blotter
Appling man given 20 years for 2 deaths
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An Appling man charged in the January 2007 murder of Thomas Tankersley pleaded guilty Friday and was sentenced to prison.
George Anthony Reid, 42, was indicted on two counts of murder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and theft by taking, according to the indictment.
Reid pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and the possession and theft charges. Superior court Judge J. Carlisle Overstreet sentenced Reid to 20 years in prison, followed by 15 years on probation.
Tankersley, of Cobbham Road, was found shot in his home Jan. 13, 2007. Reid and seven others were arrested after they were found with Tankerlsey's stolen minivan in Richmond County. All except Reid were released without charges.
The following accounts were taken from reports provided by the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. Additional police reports are available at http://www.columbiacountyso.org:
Woman finds man asleep in her motor home
A Grovetown woman called police Saturday morning after finding a man sleeping in her motor home.
About 7:30 a.m., she found damage to the door of her back porch and furniture cushions laid on the porch as though someone had slept on them. She saw an open door to her recreational vehicle, which was parked in the backyard.
Inside the RV, she found the man asleep. When he woke up, he acted intoxicated, asked where he was said he lived in Martinez and had been lost in the woods all night. Then he ran into the woods wearing only a towel.
Burglary leads to oil spill at Evans tire retailer
Police and hazardous-materials workers responded to an Evans tire retailer and garage Saturday morning after the manager told police someone had punctured an oil tank.
He said that between 7 p.m. Friday and 7 a.m. Saturday, cut an aluminum air hose to a compressor and punctured a 500-gallon oil tank at Jim Whitehead Tire and Auto, 4432 Washington Road.
More than 100 gallons of oil had spilled into the parking lot and storm drain.
Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division responded to clean the spill, according to Pam Tucker, the director of Columbia County Emergency Services.
2 vehicles vandalized in Martinez neighborhood
Two Columbia County teens called police early Saturday after discovering that their vehicles had been damaged and gang symbols were painted nearby.
A Martinez 17-year-old told police that, while at a home on Ashley Circle, he found that someone had cut the tire of his Honda Civic several times.
A second 17-year-old, of Evans, told police that, while he was at the same residence, a neighbor rang the doorbell about 7 a.m. and told him someone had broken out windows of his Chevrolet Z-71 truck. The neighbor told police he had heard the sound of breaking glass but had seen no one near the vehicles.
Police found the left front and rear windows broken. The windshield had been hit several times with an object. Police found what appeared to be gang symbols spray-painted on the ground.
Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue Activity Report for Feb. 17-23:
Structure fires, four; wood/brush/grass fires, four; vehicle fires, two; controlled/unauthorized burns, five; dumpster fire, one; other fire, one; activated fire alarms, 11; activated carbon monoxide alarm, one; gas line rupture, one; electrical incidents, three; medical incidents, 30; vehicle accidents, 11; hazardous materials, one; and assist residents, one.