Police Blotter

College Park man charged with rape

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Columbia County authorities arrested a College Park, Ga., man Tuesday in connection with a rape and kidnapping last month.

Patrick Jairrels, 25, was transferred from the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office to Columbia County, where he was wanted on the charges, Columbia County sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris said.

On Feb. 11, a 31-year-old acquaintance of Jairrels was found at the Interstate 20 rest area near McDuffie County trying to flag down motorists.

The woman said Jairrels had been pursued by Decatur, Ga., police and had fled along I-20 to the rest area, where he raped her. She said that she had jumped out of Jairrels' vehicle at the rest area and that he returned to Decatur.

Jairrels was arrested in De-Kalb County the same day on charges related to the pursuit. He was released from DeKalb County jail Tuesday and transferred to Columbia County Detention Center because of pending warrants for rape and kidnapping, Morris said.

Martinez man struck by truck

A Martinez man remained in critical condition Thursday after he was hit by a truck near his home on Old Evans Road, according to a Medical College of Georgia Hospital spokesman.

Brandon Fleeman, 29, of the 400 block of Old Evans, was taken to the hospital after he was hit by a Dodge Ram truck as he walked along the 300 block near Dent Street about 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, said sheriff's Deputy Ted Powers.

Rudy Rosado, 30, of Evans, was driving south and swerved to avoid hitting a vehicle that was stopped for traffic, Powers said. Charges against Rosado are pending, Morris said.

The following accounts were taken from reports from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. Reports are available at www.columbiacountyso.org:

Harlem man is arrested in chase

Columbia County deputies arrested a Harlem man Monday morning after he fought with and ran from them.

Isaac Tyrone Nelson, 43, of the 100 block of Keener Street, was charged with giving a false name or information to police, obstruction and a probation violation. He is being held in Columbia County Detention Center without bond, according to jail records.

A sheriff's deputy saw Nelson walking along Gordon Highway near White Road about 12:20 a.m. When the deputy turned around, Nelson ran about 20 yards before telling police he was walking home from a friend's home on White Road.

The deputy said Nelson was acting suspiciously in a known drug area, constantly looking around. He tried to move away from the deputy, said he was drunk and kept putting his hands into his pockets. The deputy said Nelson pulled a small plastic bag out of his pocket with a BB-size amount of a white substance.

Nelson ran away from the deputy, who wrestled with him, sprayed him with pepper spray, hit him in the leg with a baton and tackled him a third time before other officers arrived to help detain him.

Truck's tire spins damage church lot

An Appling woman called police Wednesday after spotting a truck doing doughnuts in the freshly repaved parking lot of Second Mount Carmel Baptist Church.

She said that about 3:15 p.m. she thought the church, at 3425 Rosemont Road, was on fire because she saw smoke coming from the Burks Mountain/Rosemont Road area. As she approached, she saw a yellow Chevrolet SSR truck spinning the vehicle in circles in the lot.

Damage is estimated to be more than $500.