Police Blotter
Body of Lakeside student recovered from river
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A Martinez teen drowned Monday after falling into the Savannah River while playing with friends at Savannah Rapids Pavilion.
Divers found 16-year-old Nick Hartfield Tuesday morning after he had been in the water for at least 12 hours.
Hartfield and two friends were walking along the rocks near the pavilion Monday afternoon when he went under the water. The friends searched for Hartfield and waited about two hours before notifying authorities.
The Columbia County Dive Team resumed its search for Hartfield on Tuesday morning when it became too dark to continue on Monday evening.
Martinez man charged in rape from two years ago
Authorities arrested a Martinez man last week for a rape a teen said he committed two years ago.
Michael James O'Grady Jr., 43, of the 3500 block of West Lake Drive, was charged Saturday with rape and providing alcohol to a minor.
The then 17-year-old reported the alleged rape to police at the time, but she and her family decided not to prosecute, Columbia County sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris said. Now 19, the teen recently decided to press charges against O'Grady.
She claims that in October 2008 a friend took her to meet O'Grady at the West Lake subdivision golf course in the early hours of the morning, according to a police report. She said O'Grady asked her friend to leave so he could talk with the teen alone.
The teen said he then assaulted her. The teen said she eventually pushed him away and ran from the golf course.
It was on the same golf course where police arrested him Saturday, according to jail records.
He is being held in the Columbia County Detention facility and has a bond hearing on Friday in Superior Court.
The following accounts were taken from reports from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. Additional reports are available at www.columbiacountyso.org:
Burglars enter by cutting hole in wall of PeachMac
Someone cut a hole through a wall to get into an Evans computer store, but took nothing.
The owner of a strip mall told police Saturday that someone cut a hole through the wall to get into PeachMac at 4158 Washington Road.
The landlord said between 9 and 9:45 p.m. Friday someone cut a hole through drywall leading into a bathroom at the back of the computer store.
Police found the back door of a vacant office two doors down had been pried open. A hole was cut through the drywall of that office, through an adjoining business and into PeachMac.
Nothing was missing, but the hole and burglary caused $900 in damage.
Teen charged with alcohol possession admits drinking
A teen was charged with being underage in possession of alcohol after police found him early Saturday walking home drunk from a party.
Police found Christopher Strickland, 19, walking down the sidewalk on Oakley Pirkle Road just before 7 a.m.. He was not wearing a shirt and was wearing shorts "that appeared as if they would fall off him at any minute," according to the report.
When a deputy stopped Strickland, he was breathing heavily and smelled of alcohol. Strickland said he had been drinking all day Friday and was walking home from a party the night before.
Strickland registered 0.177 blood-alcohol level. In Georgia, .008 is the intoxication level. He told police he had two cans of beer in his pockets.
He was charged with violating the Columbia County ordinance for being a minor in possession of alcohol and taken to his home by deputies.
Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue report for July 25-31:
Structure fires, six; wood/brush/grass fires, four; vehicle fires, two; controlled/unauthorized burns, three; activated fire alarms, 21; activated carbon monoxide detector, one; gas line ruptures, three; electrical incidents, four; medical incidents, 27; vehicle accidents, 11; storm damage, two; investigate various incidents, nine; mutual aid/public safety assistance, four; and other, two.