Police Blotter

Grovetown student charged in drug case

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Police arrested a Grovetown High School student Tuesday on a drug possession charge.

During a drug search at the school using dogs, authorities found three marijuana cigarettes inside a Chevrolet Colorado pickup belonging to 17-year-old Timothy Cole Gress, said Columbia County sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris.

Gress, of the 2700 block of Stag Antler Road in Appling, was booked into the county Detention Center and released after his father posted $1,100 bond.

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

Security guard said visitor masturbated in lobby

A private security guard working at the World Color plant told police Monday that a man waiting to pick up his sister was masturbating in the lobby.

The guard at the plant, 4301 Evans-to-Locks Road, Evans, said she was seated at her desk about 1:15 a.m. when she saw the man on a couch in the lobby with his penis in his hand. She told him to stop, and he replied, "What's wrong? I just want to talk."

The guard told him that she was calling police and that he had to leave, which he did.

The man told police his shift ended and he was waiting for his sister, who needed a ride, to get off work. He said he had just used the restroom and must have forgotten to zip his pants before sitting down in the lobby. He said the guard said, "You're not doing what I think," which is when he noticed his zipper was open.

The man said the situation was a misunderstanding. He apologized to the guard and left the lobby.

No charges were filed.

Appling man claims damage from ATVs

Several juveniles on dirt bikes and ATVs damaged county property Wednesday.

A 69-year-old Appling man told police that just after 6 p.m., he saw seven or eight young people riding ATVs and dirt bikes on the edge of his property and his neighbor's property on Winfield Road.

Police found that the riders on the county right of way and the edge of the properties caused about $500 in damage by uprooting grass and gouging deep ruts in the soft dirt. Water lines were recently installed throughout the community, and the contractor restructured the shoulder of the road and planted grass to prevent erosion.

County and contracted crews had to return to the area to repair the damage caused by the vehicles.

The man said he could not identify the vandals, but said one dirt bike had "88" on the front. Police asked him to call if the vandals returned.

Grovetown home burglarized three times

A Grovetown woman said Monday that someone burglarized her home for the third time since it was "raided" by sheriff's office narcotics officers two weeks before.

The 45-year-old woman said she returned to her Apostolic Drive home at about 2:40 p.m. and noticed several missing items, including two Ducks Unlimited prints, a computer, a DVD/VCR, a TV, an amplifier and 250 CDs. She said the stolen items are worth $1,875.

Police found a basement door open, but the woman said the door was closed and locked when she left more than 12 hours earlier.