Police blotter
Warrant issued for explosives charge
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An arrest warrant for possession of bomb-making materials was issued Tuesday for a Martinez man who is being treated for an explosion that injured his hand.
Chad Wells faces a charge of possession of a destructive device, Columbia County Chief Magistrate Wade Padgett said. Wells could face 20 years in prison and a $25,000 fine if he is convicted, Padgett said.
Wells was in the Joseph M. Still Burn Center at Doctors Hospital on Friday, according to hospital spokesman Beth Frits.
Federal and local authorities sealed off Wells' home Jan. 17 and searched it for explosives after learning that he had lost some fingers in a small blast days before.
Anthony Russo, a supervisory special agent for the FBI's Augusta office, confirmed Tuesday that a rare substance called triacetone triperoxide was found at Wells' Salley Drive home off Furys Ferry Road.
Russo said that TATP, a homemade explosive devised of common chemicals, has been found in the United States only a handful of times. He said it has been used in terrorist operations, though authorities do not believe Wells is a terrorist.
10-year-old assaults school bus aide
A 10-year-old Columbia County special-needs pupil was taken to Medical College of Georgia Hospital for evaluation after she assaulted a school bus aide Thursday morning, authorities said.
The girl's mother had been having difficulty with the Evans Elementary School pupil before the bus arrived about 8 a.m. to Arrowood Mobile Home Park off Wrightsboro Road near Grovetown, said Columbia County sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris.
When the girl boarded the special needs bus, she hit the 66-year-old bus aide in the face and kicked her, Morris said.
The driver evacuated the bus, and the other pupils boarded a second bus and were taken to school , Morris said.
An ambulance was called to evaluate the bus aide, who was not taken to a hospital.
Authorities said Thursday that the pupil will not be charged.
The following accounts were taken from reports from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. Additional reports are available at www.columbiacountyso.org:
Subway employee gets death threat
An employee of the Evans Subway called police Tuesday after finding a threatening note left for her on the restaurant counter.
The 19-year-old employee said she found the note next to the register sometime after 3 p.m.
The note, which was written on a Subway napkin, stated, "I will come to Subway in 2 hours and I will kill you! I am at Kroger. crim."
Two arrested in attempted theft
Two Fort Gordon men were arrested Thursday morning after they were caught trying to steal wheels from a car on a Martinez car lot.
Ayrik Lee Fisher and Jonathan Trummie Taylor, both 18, were charged with theft by taking and were being held Thursday in the Columbia County Detention Center on a $2,600 bond, according to jail records.
A deputy on patrol just after midnight Wednesday saw Fisher sprinting across Washington Road from the area of Discount Tire Warehouse, 3699 Washington Road. Fisher jumped a fence and got into a black Nissan Altima.
Because no surrounding businesses were open, the deputy stopped Fisher, who said he had parked in the lot and walked to the nearby convenience store for a can of tobacco. The deputy said he was suspicious why Fisher didn't drive to the lot of the Sprint store, which was already closed.
The deputy then saw Taylor walking in the same area Fisher had run from.
Another deputy, who stopped and frisked Taylor, found a lug wrench in his back pocket. Taylor said a friend had dropped him off on Baston Road and he was walking to an ATM because his card had been declined at a nearby Circle K store.
Deputies searched the area and found tools, including a floor jack, near a Honda Civic with racing wheels on the Garner Auto Sales lot. The car had been jacked up on the passenger side.
After they were taken into custody, Fisher admitted he and Taylor were trying to steal the wheels, according to the police report.
Woman reports dog, food stolen
An Appling woman told police Tuesday morning that someone broke into her home and stole food and her dog.
The 18-year-old said that when she returned home just before midnight Monday, she discovered someone had forced her front door open, stolen her dog and $300 worth of food from three coolers on the back porch.