Police Blotter
The following accounts were taken from reports from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. Additional reports are available at www. columbiacountyso.org:
//
House under repair is damaged by vandals
A Martinez man called police Sunday after discovering that someone had vandalized his home Saturday evening.
The 48-year-old said that when he returned to his home, which is being gutted and remodeled, at 8:30 a.m., someone had entered through the back door and overturned a television in the living room. The intruder poured cleaning liquid and broke a bottle of peppers on the floor. A chest of drawers had been overturned, and clothes were scattered throughout the house.
Someone had broken into the house July 14 and stolen a television set.
Gym at apartment complex is vandalized
The manager of an Evans apartment complex reported Friday that someone had caused nearly $500 worth of damage to the complex.
The manager said that between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m., vandals had damaged the community weight room at Wedgewood Club Apartments on Old Evans Road. The vandals had used a baseball bat to knock several holes in the walls. Two exit signs were knocked down, and dog feces were left on the floor, she said.
Employee is accused of stealing from register
The manager of the Martinez Zaxby's reported Sunday that she had caught an employee stealing more than $200 from a register.
She said she had counted the money in the cash register at the restaurant at 510 Furys Ferry Road before the end of the shift and found it $170 short. One cashier worked on that register all day, and the same employee's register came up $65 short Saturday, she told police.
When she reviewed security camera footage, she saw the cashier taking money out of the register many times during his shift, she said.
The cashier left the restaurant before police arrived.
Woman charged in theft at Wal-Mart
A Hephzibah woman was arrested Thursday on charges that she tried to steal more than $200 worth of clothing from the Evans Wal-Mart.
Police charged Kimberly Jo Nettles, 34, of 2300 block of Cougar Drive, with theft by shoplifting. She was being held at the Columbia County Detention Center Tuesday on a $1,100 bond, according to jail records.
A store loss prevention employee said that between 12:30 and 1 p.m., she saw Nettles conceal clothing, mostly scrub pants and tops, in the store at 4469 Washington Road. When Nettles left the store without paying for the items, valued at $209.44, the employee confronted Nettles and recovered the merchandise.
Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue Activity Report for the week of July 20-26:
Structure fire, one; wood/brush/grass fire, one; vehicle fires, two; controlled/unauthorized burns, two; other fire, one; activated fire alarms, eight; medical incidents, 19; vehicle accidents, seven; gas line ruptures, four; electrical incidents, two; weather damage, one; investigate various incidents, three; assist citizens, three; and mutual aid/public safety assistance, two.