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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Cab driver flees after fearing armed robbery
An Augusta cab driver called police after he escaped what he believed was a robbery attempt.
The driver said that shortly before midnight March 29, he picked up a man on Olive Road and collected a $2 deposit for a ride to a residence in the 3800 block of Murray Road in Martinez.
When they arrived on Murray Road, the passenger, who owed $16, got out of the right rear door and reached into a bag.
The passenger pulled out what appeared to be a handgun, though the driver said he wasn't sure what the object was or whether he heard a gunshot. The driver said he feared a robbery, so he put the transmission into reverse and accelerated.
The rear door, which was still open, knocked the passenger to the ground and the taxi driver drove less than a mile before stopping to call police.
Deputies found a cell phone the passenger had left in the back floorboard of the cab but were unable to locate the passenger during a search of the area using police dogs.
Woman says someone filed false tax return
A Columbia County woman told deputies Tuesday that someone filed a tax return in her name.
The 42-year-old, who lives off Frontage Road, said she was contacted by an Internal Revenue Service representative who told her someone had used her name and Social Security number to file a false tax return with a $14,000 refund.
She said the person who filed the return used her information and an address in Dayton, Ky.
Cash Advance office is found burglarized
A loan officer for a Martinez business found the office had been ransacked and burglarized.
The employee of Augusta Cash Advance, 4127 Columbia Road, called deputies about 9 a.m. March 29 after she found the office ransacked and the back door open.
Police found that the door had been pried open. She told police that about $600 was missing from cash drawers of three desks.
Buddha statue reported stolen from man's yard
A Grovetown man reported that someone had stolen a statue from his property.
The 73-year-old said that between noon March 29 and 8 p.m. March 30 someone stole a Buddha statue from his front yard.
The man said the missing statue was worth about $100.
Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue Activity Report for the week of March 23-29:
Structure fires, four; vehicle fire, one; wood/brush/grass fires, seven; controlled/unauthorized burns, six; activated fire alarms, 13; activated carbon monoxide detector, one; medical incidents, 27; vehicle accidents, 11; electrical incident, one; investigate various incidents, one; assist residents, one; and mutual aid/public safety assistance, one.