Police Blotter
Suspect in burglary surrenders to police
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A Martinez woman police sought in connection with a burglary Monday morning surrendered the same day.
Amanda Claire Samples, 18, of Martinez, turned herself over to the Columbia County Sheriff's Office on Monday night, Capt. Steve Morris said.
Samples was charged with burglary and was held in the Columbia County Detention Center on Thursday with a $1,100 bond, according to jail records.
She was identified by a man accused of helping with the burglary -- Timothy Erving Barnes, 20, of Belfair Lakes Drive in Augusta -- after he was arrested near the burglary site in Halifax subdivision.
Witnesses told police they saw a man and a woman, later identified as Barnes and Samples, crawling out of a window in the 400 block of Halifax Drive.
Barnes was being held without bond in the Columbia County Detention Center Friday on bond, according to jail personnel.
The following accounts were taken from reports from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. Additional reports are available at www.columbiacountyso.org:
Man accuses daughter, son of stealing cards
A Martinez man called police Monday after discovering that his 22-year-old son and daughter had stolen his credit and debit cards and spent more than $4,000.
The 55-year-old man said between March 20 and March 30, his son stole credit and debit cards and spent more than $2,300 and wrote a $360 check from the man's closed bank account. The man said his daughter stole another credit card, on which she charged more than $1,300.
The man found the charges on his monthly statement. He said he found other charges made with his Discover card.
Hubcaps reported stolen at retirement homes
Employees of two Evans retirement facilities reported someone stealing hubcaps from vehicles in the parking lots Monday.
A man called police about 1:20 a.m. to Brandon Wilde, 4275 Owens Road, after finding Cadillac hubcaps on the ground next to a different Cadillac. He told police he found another Cadillac and a GMC Yukon parked nearby missing hubcaps.
The man said he had spoken to police earlier about a silver Honda Accord occupied by two men. One of the men said his name was Mike and he was from Savannah, the man said.
Police discovered that seven vehicles in the Brandon Wilde parking lot were missing hubcaps.
About 1:15 a.m. Monday, a nurse at Morningside Assisted Living of Evans called police to the parking lot of the facility at 353 N. Belair Road. The nurse said she watched from the window as two men in a silver Honda Accord took hubcaps off a Cadillac in the parking lot.
Man is arrested after drink machine break-in
Deputies arrested a man Tuesday after an officer saw him break into and steal the money from a Cola-Cola machine on Davis Road.
The officer saw Ennis Poole, 34, of Hopkins Street, ride a bicycle from Washington Road to Davis Road about 12:03 a.m. and approach the machine in Bristol Cone Square shopping center.
The officer watched Poole break into the machine, then leave on his bike. After officers approached Poole, he told them he was buying a drink; he did not have one with him. Officers found a large amount of cash in his jacket pocket and a pry bar and money bin filled with cash and coins three feet away.
Poole was arrested and charged two counts of misdemeanor theft by taking and two counts of felony damage to property, according to the Columbia County Detention Center.
Poole was being held Friday on a $12,400 bond, according to jail personnel.
Cell phone buyer reports her identification used
A Grovetown woman told police Tuesday that someone had used her personal information to open a cell phone account.
The 27-year-old said at about 5 p.m. Tuesday she tried to purchase a Verizon cell phone, but was told by the sales clerk that her service application was denied because someone already had an account with the same Social Security number.
The shopper discovered that the person using her information was a man from Gray, Ga., but found no suspicious activity on her credit report.
The clerk told the woman Verizon would investigate to see whether it was an error or the man was using her credit information.