Police blotter
Hearing set for pair charged with murder
//
An April 29 hearing has been scheduled to hear evidence against a Columbia County woman and her son accused of fatally beating her neighbor last month in her Grovetown home.
Rebecca Bowers Sears, 41, and Christopher Sean Bowers, 19, will appear before a Superior Court judge at the Evans courthouse, said Victor Hawk, Sears' attorney.
They were arrested March 27 on charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Laverne Kath-erine "Kay" Parsons, 41.
The suspects are at the Columbia County Detention Center without bond, according to jail records.
Authorities say they think Bowers, of the 4000 block of Briarwood Drive, and Sears, of 227 Hot Springs Drive, fatally beat Parsons with a baseball bat and claw hammer. Called to investigate an apparent break-in March 25, deputies found Parsons on her garage floor. She died the next day.
Columbia County Magistrate Judge Dale Jenereaux said Monday that the conspiracy charges against Bowers and Sears likely will be dropped. District Attorney Ashley Wright said Tuesday that a decision on charges will be made after the case is presented to a grand jury.
'Kidnapped' woman charged in robbery
A Harlem woman initially identified as a kidnapping victim is in jail, accused of participating in a robbery.
Shashawna Diane Odell, 27, of the 500 block of Lou Lane, was charged with robbery, tampering with evidence and hindering the apprehension/punishment of a criminal. She is held without bond in Columbia County Detention Center, according to jail records.
Police said she took part in the armed robbery March 27 with her boyfriend, Christopher Grier, of the 700 block of Knox Road in Harlem. Police say he broke into a Grovetown home and robbed the residents at gunpoint. Odell, who was believed to have been kidnapped along with her 7-month-old son, drove Grier to a south Alabama town.
An Amber Alert was issued for Odell and her son after she called her mother in Washington, D.C. The mother called police, saying her daughter had been kidnapped, said Investigator Scott Wheatley, of the Grovetown Department of Public Safety.
Police stopped Odell in Newton County, Ga., and confirmed she and the baby were safe before she returned to Harlem on Sunday.
Odell admitted she willingly drove Grier to Alabama, drove the getaway car for Grier as he conducted the robbery and disposed of the gun he used, Wheatley said. The gun was recovered on Kings Way in Harlem. Grier is wanted for the robbery, but the kidnapping warrants have been dropped, Columbia County sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris said.
The following accounts were taken from reports from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. Additional reports are available at www.columbiacountyso.org:
Evans man charged with drinking on job
An Evans man was arrested on April Fools Day after he was caught drinking beer at the restaurant where he works, police said.
A partner of Fatz Cafe, 464 N. Belair Road in Evans, told police that Brian Edward Schauer, 27, of the 4100 block of Sawgrass Court, drank the restaurant's beer without paying during operating hours.
Schauer was previously caught drinking beer and was warned. The partner said a co-worker saw Schauer go into the walk-in cooler with an empty cup, then exit with a cup full of liquid. The employee said Schauer then "drank nonstop" while watching the manager's office.
Schauer admitted to drinking a cup of beer at 9 a.m. and another at 10 a.m. He registered 0.159 on a portable alcohol sensor.
Schauer was charged with theft by taking and was released from Columbia County Detention Center on Wednesday after posting an $1,100 bond, according to jail personnel.
Evans woman says purse was snatched
An Evans woman told police Monday a man snatched her purse on the sidewalk outside Ross Dress for Less in Mullins Crossing.
She said she was on the sidewalk about 5:30 p.m. when a man ran by, grabbed her purse and ran into the woods. She said the thief wore a gray hooded sweatshirt.