Police Blotter

2 Georgia Tech students burned in explosion

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Two Georgia Tech students, including one from Columbia County, suffered severe burns Wednesday morning from a chemical explosion behind an Atlanta fraternity house.

Paul Grzybowski, a junior materials science major from Appling, and Tommy Keen, a sophomore aerospace engineering major from Peachtree City, Ga., were injured when they tried to mix aluminum powder with rust powder, officials said.

Such a mixture might produce thermite, a combustible compound.

Grzybowski is a 2007 graduate of Greenbrier High School, where he was an AP scholar and honors student, played trombone and ran cross country.

Grzybowski and Keen were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta for treatment of burns to their upper bodies.

A Grady spokeswoman said Wednesday that it is against hospital policy to release the condition of patients to the media, but The Associated Press previously reported that both men were in critical condition.

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

Evans man charged with stealing from car in lot

An Evans man was arrested Wednesday after police saw someone stealing from a car in the Mullins Crossing parking lot.

Joseph Daniel Krecskay, 32, of the 4800 block of McGahee Road, was charged with entering an auto and financial transaction card fraud. He was held in the Columbia County Detention Center Thursday without bond, according to jail workers.

Just after 8 p.m., a sheriff's deputy saw a man, later identified as Krecskay, walking through the Evans shopping center lot pulling on car door handles. The deputy said he saw Krecskay enter a Suzuki Grand Vitara and then leave the lot in a white Pontiac.

Another deputy stopped Krecskay, who matched the description given by the other deputy, nearby on Washington Road. He told police he was headed from his home to a meeting. Krecskay then said he had been in the Mullins Crossing parking lot.

The Suzuki owner confirmed that a credit card was missing from the car.

Police found a folded MasterCard bearing a woman's name in Krecskay's pocket. He said the car belonged to his cousin.

Evans home burglarized while owners were away

Someone burglarized an Evans residence Monday while the residents were away for the Memorial Day weekend.

The 51-year-old said he and his wife left their Hardy McManus Road home May 28. When they returned just before noon Monday, his wife's jewelry box was on the kitchen counter.

He saw that the kitchen door had been kicked or pried open and the door's wood molding was on the floor. A window in the master bedroom had been pried open, and the night stand in front of it moved.

The man said nearly $7,800 worth of the couple's belongings was missing, including a 46-inch plasma television, a 32-inch television, a jewelry box and his wife's set of golf clubs.

Firefighter's pickup is damaged at fire station

Someone drove and damaged a Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue firefighter's truck, which was in the fire station.

The 41-year-old said his 1997 Dodge Ram was inside the fire station bay at 4590 Oakley Pirkle Road with an oil pan under it the evening of May 29. When he returned less than 20 minutes later, the oil pan was out of place and there was a 50-foot-long oil streak stretching from the bay to the back of the fire station.

The back of the truck was damaged, and a tree was uprooted behind the station.

Debit card stolen, used

A Martinez woman told police Tuesday that someone spent more than $800 with her stolen debit card.

The 73-year-old said her wallet, containing her debit and credit cards, had been stolen in Richmond County.

She discovered that someone used the debit card three times in Evans between 3 and 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. She said someone spent nearly $140 at the Kroger on Columbia Road, and about $680 at Target in Mullins Crossing.

The thief also tried to withdraw $200 using the card at an ATM on Washington Road at Iron & Steel Drive. The withdrawal was declined.

Martinez Columbia Fire Rescue report for May 23-29:

Structure fires, two; vehicle fires, two; wood/brush/grass fires, two; controlled/unauthorized burns, five; alarms, 11; carbon monoxide detector, one; hazardous materials, one; medical incidents, 31; vehicle accidents, four; investigate various incidents, two; and assist residents, one.