Police Blotter
Greenbrier High student critically injured in wreck
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A single-vehicle wreck on Hardy McManus Road left a Greenbrier High School senior critically injured.
Haley Elise Van Pelt, 17, of Evans, remained in critical condition Friday at Medical College of Georgia Hospital's Intensive Care Unit, MCG spokeswoman Denise Parrish.
The wreck occurred about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. The teen was trapped in her late-model Saturn Ion for two hours after it ran off the road and slammed sideways into a large pine tree, said Columbia County sheriff's Deputy Ty Mobley.
The tree caused the driver's door to cave in, and Gold Gross Emergency Medical Service and Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue crews freed her.
An ambulance took Van Pelt to the Grace Baptist Church parking lot, where she was taken by an Air Med helicopter ambulance to the hospital.
Van Pelt, who was driving toward Washington Road in the 5500 block of Hardy McManus Road, was alone in the vehicle. It appeared that her car had run off the edge of the road and that she had lost control of it, said Deputy Greg Kernaghan.
Van Pelt, an honor student, is a member of Greenbrier's marching band and was headed to summer band camp at the time of the wreck, according to a school staff member.
Mobile home along lake is damaged by fire
Flames from an unauthorized outdoor fire Tuesday night caused extensive damage to a mobile home at Columbia County Fish and Game Club at Clarks Hill Lake.
The trailer is considered a loss, said Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue spokeswoman Honey Shore.
A neighbor's fire got out of hand and spread to the Appling double-wide trailer at 6:25 p.m. Residences on both sides sustained heat damage, Shore said.
The mobile home was not the homeowner's primary residence, she said. No one was inside when the fire started.
The statewide ban on outdoor burning is still in effect, Shore said.
Sheriff's Web site shows list of criminal suspects
People who are wanted on a variety of offenses in the county can now be viewed by visitors to the Columbia County Sheriff's Office Web site.
"It's just an effort to help locate individuals wanted by the Columbia County Sheriff's Office," said Capt. Steve Morris.
The list was first displayed Monday, and by Thursday, 553 records could be viewed. The wanted list includes each suspect's name, age, last known address and charge.
Capt. Morris said that most recorded warrants are for failure to appear in court or probation violations. The office averages five new warrants a day, he said.
To access the list, visit www.columbiacountyso.org. After clicking on the incident and accident reports tab, the user will find the wanted list at the top of the page.
The following accounts were taken from reports from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. Reports are available at www.columbiacountyso.org:
Man investigated after he kills cow for cookout
A Columbia County man who said he tied a cow to a tree and bludgeoned it to death with a hammer is under investigation for animal cruelty.
The incident, which was reported by an anonymous caller at 7:40 p.m. Tuesday, occurred on Aspen Laurel Drive in Evans.
The 48-year-old man said he bought the cow in Edgefield, S.C., for a cookout he was holding when his brother visited from out of town. He said he hit the cow two or three times on the top of the head with a five-pound hammer.
He said he began to skin and quarter the cow after he believed it was dead.
The caller, however, told police that two men took turns beating it on the head until it fell. The men began skinning the cow while it still appeared to be alive, the caller claimed.
Columbia County Sheriff's Office officials were researching to see if any laws were broken.
Two laptops reported stolen from Peach Mac
The general manager of Peach Mac, 4158 Washington Road in Evans, told police that a man left the store Tuesday with two laptops that had not been properly purchased.
He said the customer tried to buy two laptops, worth nearly $2,300 each but his credit card was denied. The customer asked to call his bank. He gave the phone to a sales associate, who thought he received the correct authorization code, and finished the sale manually. The customer left with the computers.
The general manager said he later found out that the transaction had not been authorized by the credit card company.