Police blotter
Evans gator alive; two men arrested
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A large alligator, presumed to have been the carcass found more than a week ago in an Evans pond, is alive.
The mutilated carcass of a 9-foot alligator, found Aug. 24 in the pond behind Brown Feed & Seed off Washington Road, was confirmed by officials from the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division to have been one killed in Richmond County.
After being told the alligator had been killed in Richmond County, the officials visited the pond Thursday and saw the resident alligator, dubbed "Big Boy" because of his size.
Two Columbia County men were arrested Friday in connection with the killing -- Bobby Jones, 51, and Luther Godowns, 65. Jones was charged with hunting out of season and possession of illegally taken wildlife. Godowns was charged with possession of illegally taken wildlife and "dumping or egregious litter," according to a statement from wildlife officials.
The following accounts were taken from reports from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. Reports are available at www.columbiacountyso.org:
Soldier's home robbed, ransacked
A Fort Gordon soldier's Grovetown home was burglarized and ransacked during the weekend.
The soldier said that about 11 a.m. Sunday, she found her front door unlocked and partly open. Sometime after she left at 5 p.m. Friday, someone shattered a rear glass door and unlocked it.
The home was ransacked and items worth more than $3,300 were stolen. They included an Apple iPod, a laptop computer, a printer, a television, two DVD players, a wireless network card, a DVR and a Sony Playstation 2 game console.
Trash dumped, trash can stolen
An Evans man told police Sunday that someone had emptied, then stolen his garbage can.
Between 4:30 p.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. Sunday, the vandal dumped trash from the can next to his garage onto the front porch, then stole the can.
Lawn ornaments stolen, damaged
Several Columbia County residents called police to report damaged or stolen lawn ornaments.
A Martinez woman said that someone stole two ornaments worth $110 overnight Friday. On Sunday, she said, someone took a $49 yard spinner.
A Martinez man said that Thursday morning someone knocked over an acrylic fountain in his front yard and stole a $300 acrylic dolphin. A neighbor told police that during the same period, someone dragged a $100 wishing well from his front yard to the curb, damaging the well.
A woman in another neighborhood said that someone stole two lawn ornaments, a flagpole and a flag, all worth about $65, from her front yard Thursday.
Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue report, Aug. 23-29:
Structure fires, four; wood/brush/grass fires, two; controlled/ unauthorized burns, seven; other fire, one; gas line ruptures, three; activated fire alarms, six; activated carbon monoxide detector, one; medical incidents, 20; vehicle accidents, 15; investigate various incidents, three; and assist residents, two.