Police blotter
Evans man is charged in S.C. as Internet predator
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An Evans man has been arrested in an Internet predator case that was investigated by the Aiken County Sheriff's Office, reported the South Carolina attorney general's office last week.
Joshua David Taylor, 21, of the 4600 block of Holly Hill Road, was arrested Feb. 18, according to a statement. He is charged with criminal solicitation of a minor, a felony offense.
Judge keeps hearing open
A judge denied a motion Wednesday to prohibit public access to a pretrial hearing for a Columbia County woman who is accused, along with her son, in the March beating death of her next-door neighbor.
Defense attorneys for Rebecca Bowers Sears, 41, and Sean Christopher Bowers, 20, requested that a Jackson-Denno hearing be closed, contending inaccurate or misleading information presented at it would be prejudicial to potential jurors.
In the hearing, the judge will determine whether statements by Sears were voluntary and whether they should be suppressed as evidence in her trial.
Sears, of the 200 block of Hot Springs Drive, and Bowers, of the 4000 block of Briarwood Drive, are charged in the death of Laverne "Kay" Parsons.
On March 25, Parsons was found in her garage beaten with a baseball bat and a claw hammer. Sears and Bowers were arrested a few days later; they were indicted on murder, armed robbery and burglary charges in April.
District Attorney Ashley Wright said that the decision to change the venue of the trial would be made at jury selection but that she expects to seat a jury.
A date for the hearing has not been set.
Sears and Bowers will be tried separately because the district attorney plans to seek the death penalty
The following accounts were taken from reports from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. Additional reports are available at www.columbiacountyso.org:
Man charged with assault
An Augusta man was arrested Tuesday evening after he was caught breaking into someone's car in Evans, ran away and caused a wreck.
Vincent Artaray Willis, 24, of the 3700 block of Belair Road, is charged with aggravated assault and entering an auto.
An Evans man returned to his home on Burlington Drive about 10 p.m. and thought he saw his son or daughter leaning inside his daughter's car.
He saw a man dressed in dark clothing run from the vehicle and jump a fence from the backyard. He called 911 and was told to stay at his house, but went looking for the thief and found Willis driving off in a Honda Accord with its lights off toward Pierwood Way.
On North Belair Road, the resident drove his truck in front of Willis' vehicle and then into his lane in an attempt to get him to stop or slow down.
The man said Willis rammed into his truck before losing control of his Honda, which went into a field near AmeriGas on Evans to Locks Road. Willis ran away but was caught by police.
Willis also was cited with driving on a suspended license. He is being held at the Columbia County Detention Center on a $33,800 bond.
Man charged in threats
A Harlem man was charged with contempt of court and with making terroristic threats and acts while he was in court Wednesday for child support issues.
Patrick Donnell Ealy, 44, of the 200 block of Bell Street, threatened the 25-year-old woman he owed child support by saying he would have someone hurt or kill her.
Ealy was already in custody for failing to pay child support. He is being held at the Columbia County Detention Center with no bond.
TVs, electronics stolen
The back door of a Grovetown residence was forced open Tuesday and several electronic items taken.
The resident said that between 11 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. the intruder took two 52-inch flat-screen televisions, a 42-inch flat-screen TV, a laptop computer and a Playstation 3. She said an Xbox 360 that didn't work was left inside the residence on Bison Way.
The woman keeps a pit bull terrier in the house, but she said the dog was tied up.