Police blotter
Woman, son are indicted on murder charges
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A Columbia County grand jury on Wednesday indicted a Columbia County woman and her son accused of the March 25 murder a Grovetown woman.
The jury indicted Rebecca Sears, 41, and Christopher Bowers, 20, for murder, armed robbery and burglary.
They are accused of beating and stealing from Sears' neighbor, Laverne "Kay" Parsons, 41.
The indictment charges Sears, of 227 Hot Springs Drive, and Bowers, of the 4000 block of Briarwood Drive, Martinez, with beating Parsons with a bat and claw hammer. It stated that they stole a gold necklace and a watch from her home at 229 Hot Springs Drive.
At an bond hearing April 16, prosecutor Philip Catalano called Sears the mastermind behind the homicide and said it was Bowers who beat Parsons with the hammer.
As Parsons' neighbor, Sears knew the victim's schedule and told her son when to strike, the prosecutor said.
Superior Court Chief Judge J. Carlisle Overstreet denied bond. Sears and Bowers are jailed at the Columbia County Detention Center.
Bowers' attorney, Jacque Hawk, said that a preliminary hearing scheduled for April 29 probably won't take place because the grand jury already determined there was probable cause for them to face the charges.
Bond denied for towtruck driver with murder charge
A Superior Court judge denied bond Wednesday for a South Carolina man but granted bond for his wife, both of whom are accused of fatally running down an Augusta man with a tow truck.
Michael Faron Brown, 27, was denied bond by Chief Judge J. Carlisle Overstreet. Victoria Nichole Brown, 20, was granted a $50,000 bond.
The Browns, of Bent Tree Circle in Gaston, are accused of killing William Jacobs.
Overstreet denied bond to Michael Brown because of his extensive criminal record, including three convictions for assault and battery, simple assault and battery, trespassing, shoplifting and criminal domestic violence.
Jacobs, 64, was hit by a wrecker April 9 outside the home of Lidie Joseph Clements on Roswell Drive in Martinez. He died of his injuries.
The Browns were trying to repossess Clements' Dodge truck. Clements told police that the wrecker damaged his truck and Jacobs' van, which also was in the driveway.
Michael Brown's attorney, Mike Garrett, said Jacobs, Clements and Clements' wife attacked the truck, so Brown let the vehicle go and tried to leave. He said Jacobs tried to get to Brown through the wrecker's window.
Clements told police that as the wrecker pulled forward and back, his truck broke loose from it. He said the wrecker sped forward, forcing him to dive out of the way to avoid being hit.
Jacobs, according to authorities, was hit by an open wrecker door, pulled beneath it and dragged a short distance.
In addition to murder, Michael Brown is charged with aggravated assault with a motor vehicle, and Victoria Brown is charged with battery. She is accused of pushing Clements' wife, who Garrett said opened the passenger door of the wrecker and tried to pull her out.
The following accounts were taken from reports from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. Additional reports are available at www.columbiacountyso.org:
Teenager is arrested in Martinez home burglary
A Hephzibah teen was arrested Monday in connection with a Martinez burglary.
Billy Math Cowart III, 17, of the 2600 block of Cross Creek Drive, was charged with burglary and was held Thursday in the Columbia County Detention Center without bond, according to jail records.
The owner of the Plantation Drive home told police that when he arrived home just after 9 a.m. Monday he discovered that someone had entered it through a window, left the back door open and left beer cans at the home. Blood was found on the window sill, and a $500 digital camera was missing.
Police found Cowart and another teen walking two streets away. The teens, who said they had just left a friend's house, smelled of alcohol. When they were taken to the residence, they said they knew the homeowner's daughter.
Cowart's shirt was missing some yellow plastic stones, matching ones found at the home. The second teen was not arrested.
Woman charged with shoplifting from Wal-Mart
Police charged an Augusta woman Tuesday with trying to shoplift party supplies from the Evans Wal-Mart.
Osha Jacole Wiley, 21, of the 2100 block of Pamlico Place, was charged with shoplifting and giving false information. She was placed in the Columbia County Detention Center on a $2,700 bond, according to jail records.
An employee of the store, at 4469 Washington Road, told police that around 3:30 p.m. he saw Wiley conceal $43 worth of merchandise in her purse.
The merchandise was children's birthday party supplies, including a birthday cake, candles, ice cream, candy, napkins, a birthday banner and paper plates.