Police Blotter
Vandals break into more vehicles
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Vehicles in two Columbia County neighborhoods were vandalized, according to police.
Since the week before the Masters Tournament, the sheriff's office has responded to 17 car break-ins in West Lake subdivision alone, including seven last week.
Six residents reported break-ins Monday night in Waterford subdivision, off Gibbs and Hereford Farm roads in Evans, according to police reports.
Thieves targeted vehicles off William Few Parkway last week, police said.
Authorities do not believe the break-ins were by one person or group, but several groups.
Some are targeting unlocked vehicles, while others are shattering windows to get inside the vehicles.
The thieves have stolen purses, wallets and electronics such as laptop computers, cell phones, GPS units and cameras.
The following accounts were taken from reports from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. Reports are available at www.columbiacountyso.org:
Wallet thief gets government card/p>
Police are trying to identify a man they say spent more than $350 on a Columbia County government credit card that had been stolen from a county employee.
The 35-year-old Road Construction Department employee told police April 27 that someone stole her wallet, which contained the credit card and several personal credit cards. The previous day, when the wallet was stolen, she had been at work, Kroger at 4115 Columbia Road in Martinez, and her Grovetown home.
A man was caught on at least two store surveillance cameras using her personal card at the Kroger and at Publix, 4274 Washington Road in Evans. The employee said $582 was spent on her credit card at Publix, Kroger and a Walgreens drugstore.
The county card was used at a CVS, Amoco and Walgreens for a total of $359.
She contacted a supervisor to deactivate the county card and canceled her personal cards.
Thief takes wallet from teen in car
A man stole a Martinez teen's wallet Tuesday while she ate in her car outside a Martinez fast-food restaurant.
The 18-year-old girl said she was with a friend at Wendy's, 3859 Washington Road, about 10:30 p.m. when a man approached and asked for a cigarette. As she leaned over to the passenger floorboard for her cigarettes, the man took $2 from her lap and stole her wallet.
The robber ran away and threw the wallet onto the roof of Appliance Land. The teen went home and called police. Police recovered her wallet with nothing missing.
Noisy burglar wakes up resident
Someone broke into an Evans home Wednesday while the resident slept.
A 51-year-old resident said a noise in his Azalea Drive home woke him about 1 a.m. He said a red light was on, indicating the garage door was open.
Checking the house, he found the front door open. He also found his wallet and his wife's purse, normally kept in the kitchen, on the floor near the door.
Nothing else was stolen.