Police Blotter

The following accounts were taken from reports from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. More reports are at www.columbiacountyso.org:

//

Woman resists robber in store lot, keeps purse

A Martinez woman told police that she struggled in a store parking lot Monday with a man who tried to steal her purse.

The 38-year-old woman said that just before 9:30 p.m.at Walgreens on Washington Road and Bobby Jones Expressway, a man approached her from behind as she was getting out of her car. He grabbed her purse. She said that in the struggle, both of them fell to the ground.

The robber ran to the passenger side of a green Ford Explorer on the west end of the lot, which went east on Bobby Jones.

She said the robber wore a white or gray shirt and pants, similar to a painter's uniform.

Her finger was cut and her shoulder scraped in the struggle, but the robber did not get any of her property.

Vandals damage holiday decorations at houses

Two Columbia County residents reported damage to their outdoor Christmas decorations.

A 39-year-old Harlem man said that about 8:30 p.m. Dec. 26, someone beheaded an inflatable snowman at the end of his driveway. He heard his dog barking and went outside, where he found the damage.

Deputies found footprints and bicycle tracks in the driveway. A neighbor said lights on his fence also were damaged.

A 52-year-old Martinez woman told police the same day that vandals tore out a row of 12 toy soldiers she had installed along her front walkway. Between 9:45 and 10:10 p.m. someone broke the soldiers' wooden bases from the ground.

She said it was the second time in December that someone vandalized her property.

Driver pulls out pistol after confrontation in traffic

A Harlem man told police that after he confronted another driver on Gibbs Road, the driver pulled a gun.

The 47-year-old resident said he was behind a car on Wrightsboro Road about 3:30 p.m. when the other driver pulled to the left to prevent him from passing. After he followed the vehicle onto Gibbs Road South and approached it, the driver pointed a handgun at him.

The man with the gun told police that the complainant had been riding his bumper. When he had pulled onto Gibbs Road South to turn around, the complainant pulled up beside him, got out and approached him in a threatening manner.

The gunman, who had a concealed-weapon permit, said he pulled the gun to frighten off the other man.

Both drivers then called police for help.

Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue Activity Report for the week of Dec. 21-27:

Structure fires, two; wood/brush/grass fire, one; vehicle fire, one; controlled/unauthorized burns, five; other fires, three; activated fire alarms, 15; carbon monoxide detector activations, two; medical incidents, 17; vehicle accidents, nine; interior natural gas leak, one; investigate various incidents, eight; weather damage, one; assist residents, one; and mutual aid/public safety assistance, three.