Police Blotter

Weekend fire destroys Harlem couple's home

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A Harlem couple were not injured in a fire Saturday night that destroyed their home.

Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue crews responded to 1463 Clary Cut Road, a residence owned by Mahon Brice Salley Jr. and Jean Tuten Salley, about 9:20 p.m., said Honey Shore, a department spokeswoman.

It took firefighters about an hour to get the blaze under control, Shore said.

The Salleys were not injured, but the home is a total loss, Shore said.

The cause of the fire was not immediately determined, but Shore said no foul play is suspected.

Pharmacist suspended

An Augusta pharmacist with a history of substance abuse was suspended Friday by the Georgia State Board of Pharmacy for violating the probationary terms of a previous suspension.

Gregory P. Sullivan, of Martinez, signed a consent order Jan. 7 to suspend his license. It required him to complete a treatment program for chemical dependence and undergo random drug screenings.

This is Sullivan's second suspension relating to substance abuse in a decade.

The board suspended him for violating a 1999 agreement to reinstate his license after a previous suspension, according to Matt Carrowthers, a spokesman for the secretary of state's office.

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

Wheelchair stolen at store

Two teens were arrested Saturday and charged with stealing a wheelchair from the Martinez Wal-Mart.

Christopher Wayne Nettles, 18, of the 500 block of Martin Lane in Augusta, and Corey Shaun McDaniel, 19, of the 600 block of South Belair Road in Grovetown, were charged with larceny. They were released from the Columbia County Detention Center on Saturday evening after posting $1,600 bonds, according to jail records.

The loss-prevention officer of the store at 260 Bobby Jones Expressway told police that just after 1 p.m., a customer told him two men had loaded a wheelchair into the back of a truck. The $229 wheelchair belongs to the store.

The officer went to the area the customer mentioned and saw a white truck leaving with the wheelchair in the back. He got the tag number and called police.

While police searched for the truck, which was registered to one of the teens, Nettles called the sheriff's office to make arrangements to return the wheelchair.

Man reports aggressive ex

A Dearing man told police Saturday night that his ex-girlfriend had rammed his car several times while he was traveling on Interstate 20.

The 23-year-old said that just after 9:30 p.m., he got into an argument with the woman at a gas station in Thomson. After he and another woman headed east in a Jeep Cherokee, he realized his ex was following them in a Chevrolet Impala.

When he entered Columbia County, the ex-girlfriend rammed the back of his Jeep at least seven times, he said. The female passenger called police on her cell phone.

The man stopped in the weigh station, followed by his ex-girlfriend, who he said got out of her car and yelled at him.

The ex-girlfriend told police she was trying to catch up to the man to tell him something. She said she tried to signal him by flashing her headlights, but he wouldn't pull over.

She also said that while following too closely, she accidentally struck the back of his Jeep with her car.

Police noted damage on the front of the ex-girlfriend's Impala that was consistent with several strikes.