Police blotter

Public safety chief starts work Monday

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Harlem's new director of public safety starts Monday.

Of 29 applicants, city officials recently chose Jesse Bowman, of Evans, as the director of the Department of Public Safety, City Manager Jean Dove said.

Director Jerry Baldwin resigned Jan. 23, a day after he was caught shoplifting from the Wal-Mart in Evans. Assistant Director Chuck Meadows has served as interim director since then.

Dove said Bowman recently retired from Wackenhut at Savannah River Site after 27 years. He has volunteered for 10 years with the Thomson Community Policing Program, which he headed, and has volunteered with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office and Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue.

A swearing-in ceremony and a meet-and-greet with Bowman will be held at 9 a.m. Tuesday at Harlem City Hall.

Reward is offered for Hephzibah man

The FBI issued a warrant Tuesday for a man charged in a fight with an off-duty police officer in West Lake subdivision last year.

Bobby Lee Roberson, 42, of Hephzibah, is wanted on a variety of charges in Columbia and Richmond counties, including robbery, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and aggravated assault on a police officer, according to the Augusta FBI office.

The last charge was in connection with a February 2008 shoot-out after the Medical College of Georgia officer found a man in his vehicle, police say.

Recently, the FBI obtained a federal warrant on a charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution because Roberson initially fled the area, authorities said. Late last year, he was seen at a road block in North Augusta and ran from a stolen vehicle, Columbia County sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris said.

Roberson is considered armed and dangerous. The FBI is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to his arrest. Call the Augusta FBI office at (706) 722-3702 or (404) 679-9000.

Armed robber hits Evans credit union

A gunman robbed an Evans credit union Thursday.

Columbia County sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris said the man approached a teller at the SRP Federal Credit Union on North Belair Road just before 11 a.m. with a handgun and demanded money.

He left the office with cash in a dark-green, four-door sedan.

Witnesses described the man as black, 5 feet 10 inches tall and about 200 pounds. He wore dark denim pants, a gray sweatshirt, a pink bandana, green latex gloves, sunglasses and a Dallas Cowboys ball cap.

Anyone with information about the robber can contact the sheriff's office at (706) 541-2800. A $2,000 reward is being offered for the suspect's arrest and conviction.

The following account was taken from a report from the Grovetown Department of Public Safety:

Tax filer discovers his identity stolen

A Puerto Rico native told police that someone used his identity to file tax returns.

The 27-year-old said he moved to Grovetown from Puerto Rico in August. He recently filed his first income tax returns in the United States, and when he checked the status of his refund he discovered it had been stopped.

After speaking to an IRS representative, he learned that someone had used his name and Social Security number, but a different address, to file 2007 and 2008 tax returns.

Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue Activity Report for March 8-14:

Structure fires, two; wood/brush/grass fires, eight; vehicle fire, one; controlled/unauthorized burns, three; activated fire alarms, nine; gas line rupture, one; medical incidents, 27; vehicle accidents, seven; investigate various incidents, three; and assist residents, two.