Police Blotter
Evans man injured in Statesboro crash
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A 2008 Greenbrier High School graduate was seriously injured in a single-car wreck outside of Statesboro, Ga., on Monday morning.
John Paul Richardson, 18, of Windmill Lane in Evans, was in critical condition Tuesday at Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, according to a hospital spokesman.
Richardson, a student at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, was traveling south on U.S. Highway 25, about eight miles outside of town between Millen and Statesboro, just before 9 a.m., when witnesses say Richardson's Ford F-150 truck veered into the center median, said Sgt. First Class J.M Lamb, post commander of the Georgia State Patrol post in Statesboro.
Richardson then over-corrected, swerved across the two lanes, onto the right shoulder and into a ditch, where the truck flipped into a stand of trees, Lamb said.
Richardson, who was wearing his seatbelt, was extricated from the truck. No drugs or alcohol are suspected, Lamb said, adding he believes Richardson might have fallen asleep at the wheel.
Stulb indicted in Glynn County child molestation
An Augusta man released from probation on a 2005 statutory rape conviction was recently indicted on a charge of child molestation in Glynn County.
William Archer Stulb, 24, of the 2800 block of Lombardy Court, was arrested June 29 and is being held in the Glynn County Detention Center in Brunswick, Ga., without bond, according to jail personnel.
During its most recent session, a Glynn County Grand Jury indicted Stulb on one county of child molestation.
Representatives for the Glynn County Police Department did not immediately return calls about the incident. But an arrest warrant accuses Stulb of molesting a pre-teen girl on June 22 in Sea Island, Ga.
In 2005, a jury found Stulb guilty of statutory rape. He was sentenced to a year in jail followed by nine years on probation, 300 hours community service and a $10,000 fine.
At the time, Stulb was not required to register as a sex offender because of his age, and the option to require him to register was at the discretion of the presiding judge. When the law changed in 2006, Stulb was required to register.
On May 21, Superior Court Judge Duncan Wheale rescinded Stulb's sentenced. The judge resentenced Stulb under the First Offender Act at a June 4 hearing to time served and released him from probation.
The prosecutor said at the time that the District Attorney's Office plans to appeal the decision, which could set a precedent if it is upheld by the state appellate court.
Fire officials present reward to informant
Officials from the state Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioners office and the Georgia Arson Control Board presented a $3,500 check to a Columbia County resident who had provided information that led to the arrest of a man responsible for a 2007 fire.
State Chief Fire Marshal Alan Shuman and Bud Ausborn, of the Arson Control Board, gave the check to Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue Chief Doug Cooper on Monday morning on behalf of the informant, who wished to remain anonymous.
The informant told about an Oct. 20 fire at a Lone Oak Road home in Grovetown. The information led to the arrest and conviction of Steven Royal Black, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by 10 years on probation.
The following accounts were taken from reports from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. Additional reports are available at www.columbiacountyso.org:
Bush burned in backyard arson
Police responded to a Martinez home Thursday after fire officials deemed a fire suspicious.
A Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue lieutenant told officers that between 5 and 5:30 p.m., someone intentionally set fire to a bush in the backyard of the Cyndee Circle home. The fire destroyed the bush and some of the surrounding yard.
A neighbor told police that two teenagers were around the home before the fire started.
The fire department was called after two girls who live in the neighborhood knocked on a neighbor's door and said there was a fire in the yard next door.
Block smashes man's windshield
A Martinez man called police early Saturday morning after discovering someone had shattered the windshield of his car with a concrete block.
The 56-year-old man said that during the night, someone had thrown the block through the glass of his 2007 Honda Civic. Police reported about $1,000 worth of damage to the windshield and the trim around it.
The car was parked on the road in front of his home.
Relatives accused in theft of jewelry, cash
A Martinez woman told police Thursday that her brother and sister-in-law stole and pawned nearly $2,000 worth of jewelry while she was out of town.
The 36-year-old said she allowed her relatives to stay at her house. A couple of days after she arrived home, she discovered that $1,995 worth of jewelry and $1,300 in cash were missing.
She found several pieces of her jewelry at a Columbia County pawnshop. The shop owner confirmed that the brother and sister-in-law pawned the jewelry.
Though the victim declined to prosecute, police told the brother and sister-in-law that they were unwelcome and had to leave immediately.
Woman reports online identity fraud to police
An Evans woman called police Friday after discovering that someone had used a Visa card in her name to buy a camera part online.
The 47-year-old said at she received a call from a Home Depot representative about a suspicious purchase of a $538.33 camera part. She said it was her name on the card but that she doesn't have a card matching the Visa account number.