Police Blotter
Head-on crash kills Martinez man
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A 36-year-old Martinez man was killed Wednesday evening in a head-on collision on Hereford Farm Road after he drove into oncoming traffic, police said.
Vernon Ashley, 36, died at about 9:30 p.m. in the wreck that occurred near the intersection of Hereford Farm Road and Lawrence Street, said Columbia County sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris.
Authorities said Ashley's 1992 Oldsmobile Cutlass crossed into the opposite lane and struck a Mazda pickup truck, driven by David McCaslin, 16, of Evans, head-on. Ashley was pronounced dead at the scene. He died as a result of blunt force trauma, said Columbia County Coroner Vernon Collins.
McCaslin and his passenger, Kincaid Fairburn, 16, of Evans, were taken to the Medical College of Georgia Hospital, according to a police report. Fairburn was in serious condition, a hospital spokeswoman said. However, she had no record on McCaslin.
None of the occupants of either vehicle involved in the wreck was wearing safety belts, Collins said. No autopsy is scheduled for Ashley, but results of toxicology results are pending, Collins said.
Man arrested for drugs on Interstate
An Atlanta man was arrested early Thursday morning after eight pounds of marijuana were found in his vehicle.
Fabion Dione Askew, 20, of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Atlanta, was charged with following too closely and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. He was being held in the Columbia County Detention Center Friday on a $16,200 bond, according to jailers.
A Columbia County sheriff's deputy pulled over Askew's Chevrolet Monte Carlo at about 1:30 a.m. Thursday on Interstate 20 for following too close to another vehicle, said sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris.
A sheriff's office canine alerted on the vehicle, and deputies found eight pounds of marijuana in the trunk, Morris said.
Evans couple arrested for drugs
An Evans couple was arrested Wednesday evening after police found marijuana plants in their home.
Michael Terry Krasselt, 53, and Elizabeth Marie Krasselt, 48, both of the 1000 block of Waltons Pass, were arrested on a drug charge. Both were being held in the Columbia County Detention Center Friday on a $25,100 bond each, according to jail records.
Police acting on an anonymous tip executed a search warrant on the Krasselts' home and found two marijuana plants in the backyard and one drying inside the home, said Columbia County sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris.
The following accounts were taken from reports from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. Additional reports are available at www.columbiacountyso.org:
Armed robbers of restaurant sought
Police are searching for two men they say robbed a Martinez Pizza Hut at gunpoint Wednesday night.
Police responded to a hold-up alarm at the Pizza Hut at 4127 Columbia Road just after 10 p.m. Employees say two men entered the store, brandished handguns and demanded money.
A delivery driver gave the robbers money from his pockets, but they demanded money from the cash register as well. As another driver and a manager watched, the driver opened the register and gave the robbers the undetermined amount of cash it contained. The drivers and manager said the men then left the store through the front door and ran to the back of the restaurant.
Obscene picture e-mailed to teacher
A Greenbrier High School teacher called police Monday after she received an obscene picture via e-mail.
The teacher told police at about 7:30 a.m. Monday she received an e-mail from a 20-year-old man, to which she responded with encouragement that he should attend college. The teacher said the man replied via e-mail, which stated he would consider her advice and that he had attached a picture with the message, "I hope you like."
The teacher said she opened the picture and it was a photo of a penis.
Evans restaurant burglarized
The manager of an Evans restaurant called police Monday after discovering someone had burglarized the restaurant during the night.
The manager of the Huddle House at 508 North Belair Road told police she arrived at work at about 5:30 a.m. and noticed the power in the restaurant was off. When she walked inside to the breaker box, the manager said she saw the office door open, the safe and a steel lock-box missing and the back door of the restaurant unlocked.
The manager said she is sure employees who closed the store locked the back door and that the office door was locked when she left at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Police found red clay shoe prints throughout the business and a possible trail from the office out the back of the restaurant to a dirt area behind the business.
Golf car thief caught in act
An Appling man told police Monday night that he saw someone trying to steal his golf car.
The 40-year-old said between 9:40 and 10:40 p.m. he heard his dogs barking, went to investigate and saw someone driving off in his golf car. As he chased the car, the man said the thief jumped off and got into a small white car and drove away.
The man said he also noticed the gas tank of his Ford F-150 truck open, the gas tank cap off and a white substance, which he determined was sugar, around the gas cap.