Police blotter

The following accounts were taken from reports provided by the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. Additional reports are available at www.columbiacountyso.org:

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Middle school pupil charged in thefts

A 14-year-old Evans Middle School pupil was charged Thursday with stealing a purse from a classmate's locker.

The classmate had reported the theft of the purse, an Apple iPod and a Sony PSP to a campus police officer earlier in the day. In viewing security footage, the officer saw the 14-year-old, whose name was printed on the back of her school jacket, open the locker and take the purse.

The girl admitted taking the purse into a nearby bathroom and stealing the music player, but said she left the purse and PSP in the bathroom. When the teen was taken into custody, the $200 iPod was recovered. She was released to her guardian.

Counterfeit check passed at Target

A Target security officer called police Thursday to report that two men had passed a counterfeit check for nearly $1,000 at the Evans store.

A cashier at the store, 4223 Washington Road, said two men passed a check for $941.59 about 2:30 p.m. The cashier said one of the men, who identified himself as Antwan Johnson, presented a state identification card to use the check.

The cashier said the check cleared and the man took the merchandise and left the store. She was later told that the check was counterfeit, as confirmed by a representative of SunTrust Bank.

Check theft blamed on magazine seller

An Evans resident told police Thursday that a woman selling magazines door to door stole a check from her house.

A sheriff's deputy took the magazine seller into custody in Northwood subdivision Thursday after he found her selling magazine subscriptions without a Columbia County peddlers license. He had warned her about two weeks ago for the offense in the Watervale area.

While she was in custody, a Northwood resident approached the deputy and said the seller had torn open an envelope containing a check left on her front porch for someone else. The resident said that the solicitor had knocked on her door about 2:30 p.m. and tried to sell her magazines and was told to return later.

The resident later found that the envelope had been torn open and the check taken out.

Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue Activity Report for the week of March 8-15:

Structure fires, 10; wood/brush/grass fires, six; vehicle fires, five; controlled/unauthorized burns, eight; other fire, one; activated fire alarms, eight; activated carbon monoxide detector, one; gas line ruptures, three; medical incidents, 37; vehicle accidents, 12; electrical incidents, three; weather damage, seven; investigate various incidents, four; assist residents, two; and mutual aid/public safety assistance, one.