Police blotter
The following accounts were taken from reports from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. Additional reports are available at www.columbiacountyso.org:
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Christmas gifts, cameras are stolen from vehicles
Nearly $300 worth of Christmas gifts were stolen from three cars Thursday.
A Martinez man went outside his home about 6:45 a.m. and found his wife's car in disarray. His wife confirmed that nearly $300 worth of games and toys intended as Christmas gifts had been stolen.
Digital cameras were reported stolen from the man's truck and the truck of a friend visiting from Ohio.
All three vehicles had been unlocked and in the driveway.
Eggs, bologna thrown on pickup parked at car lot
Someone used food to damage a vehicle at a Martinez auto repair shop and sales lot last weekend.
A mechanic at Tim Duke Automotive Service & Tire Center, 3477 Old Petersburg Road, said that between 6 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Saturday, someone vandalized a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado truck with eggs and bologna. Numerous eggs had hit the pickup, and slices of bologna were on the hood.
Lakeside student charged with being drunk at school
A Lakeside High School student was charged with underage drinking after a school safety officer found her intoxicated at school Thursday.
The officer said that about 9:30 a.m. he found the 16-year-old girl drunk in class. She registered 0.136 on a portable alcohol sensor.
The student said her stepfather supplied her with the alcohol. Her stepfather told police he knew she had drunk alcohol at home Sunday, but stopped her when he found her drinking from his glass.
At home, the girl admitted that her stepfather had told her not to drink but that she drank tequila before school. She was charged with possession of alcohol by a minor and was released to her mother.
Teen accused in burglary at home of friend's father
A friend of a Grovetown man's son burglarized the man's home and pawned his wife's wedding ring.
The man said that between 6:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Friday, someone entered his home and stole the $4,000 ring, an Xbox 360 game console and a game.
The resident said that his son was the last to leave the house and had locked the front door but not the dead-bolt. The door was locked when the man returned home.
He and his wife went to a nearby pawnshop to see whether the ring had been pawned. After she identified her ring, the shop owner identified a teen who had pawned it and signed the receipt. The ring was pawned for $60. The resident paid the $60 and returned the ring to his wife.
As of Monday morning, the suspect had not been arrested.
Woman finds home rifled, damaged by burglars
A Columbia County woman discovered that someone had broken into and damaged her home.
When she returned home just after 9 p.m., she found several items on the living room floor. She got her dogs, went to her car and called police.
Police found the entire home ransacked. Someone had turned on water in all the sinks and tubs and plugged the drains with towels. The refrigerator door was left open.
Police saw pry marks on the rear door and frame, and the door was open. The only thing missing was $500 from a safe.
Two Grovetown businesses vandalized with paint balls
Two Grovetown-area businesses were vandalized by paint balls Friday.
The operations manager at UniParts Ltd., 4001 International Parkway, told police that when he arrived about 9:30 a.m. Saturday he found the front of the building covered with 30 to 40 yellow paint ball spots. The business is fenced, so the shots had been fired from the road, he said.
The manager of First Co., 4005 International Parkway, said he was called by an employee of a neighboring business that the front of his building also was damaged by paint balls. When he arrived about 1 p.m., the front of the building had been shot about 70 times.
Martinez Columbia Fire Rescue report for Nov. 1-7:
Structure fires, two; wood/brush/grass fire, one; vehicle fires, two; controlled/unauthorized burns, four; activated fire alarms, 10; activated carbon monoxide detectors, two; gas line rupture, one; medical incidents, 39; vehicle accidents, six; investigate various incidents, two; and other, one.