Police Blotter
Break-ins suspect shot by homeowner
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A Martinez man suspected in several Augusta car break-ins was shot Sunday night by a 39-year-old homeowner who said he watched the thief enter his neighbor's truck.
Milo Fredrick Hayes III, 19, of Mount Folly Road in Martinez, was shot once in the abdomen after he tried to attack Brete Anthony Gunby, of 2014 Westfield Drive, not far from Gunby's home, said Richmond County sheriff's Lt. Calvin Chew.
Gunby spotted Hayes inside his neighbor's truck shortly before midnight and called deputies, Chew said. He then put a 9mm pistol in his pocket and walked outside to confront Hayes. Hayes attempted to walk away from the vehicle but Gunby continued to follow him and ordered him to stay at the scene until deputies arrived.
At one point, Hayes put his hand in his pocket, produced an umbrella stolen from the truck and lunged at Gunby. Chew said Gunby didn't know what the suspect had in his hand and fired. Deputies said Gunby had warned Hayes to not attack or he would shoot.
"He was just following him to keep an eye on him until the deputies got there," investigator Ashley Pletcher said.
Hayes will be charged with entering an automobile but is a suspect in at least two more car break-ins from earlier Sunday night. No charges were filed against Gunby because police said it appeared to be a case of self-defense. However, Chew said the case would be submitted to the District Attorney's Office to decide whether Gunby could be charged.
The following accounts were taken from reports from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. Additional reports are available at www.columbiacountyso.org:
Scam artist 'selling' mowers steals cash
Two Columbia County residents recently told police they were scammed by a man claiming to be selling discounted Lowe's lawn mowers.
On Thursday, a 54-year-old Grovetown man said he gave his wife's phone number to a man who called his workplace asking if anyone does yard work. The man's wife said the caller, who claimed to be a Lowe's manager, offered to sell her two $5,000 zero-turn mowers for $800 because they were overstocked.
The 31-year-old woman said she picked up the caller on Patriots way at about 1:30 p.m. and handed him $800 as they walked into the Lowe's on Washington Road in Evans. The man promised to provide warranty information and said he needed to go get some paperwork from the back of the store. He never returned.
On Saturday, a 27-year-old landscape company owner told police a man promising discounted lawn mowers stole $1,500 from him. The man said he got a call from a friend about some lawn mowers on sale at the Evans Lowe's. He said the mowers were discounted because they were overstocked and couldn't be returned to the manufacturer.
The man asked his mother to withdraw $1,500 from an ATM to buy three mowers. She picked up a man named James, who claimed to be the Lowe's warehouse manager, at a Stevens Creek Commons apartment, drove to the Evans store and gave him the cash.
James went in through the lumber entrance and left with the cash.
Men reclaim beer, urinate on door
An Evans woman said early Sunday that a man returning to her apartment to pick up beer urinated on her door.
The 20-year-old said that just after 2:30 p.m., she got a call from a man, who said he was coming to her Walden Glen Apartments home to pick up some beer he'd left there the night before. She left the beer outside the door.
The 23-year-old man arrived and yelled, banged on the door demanding she open it. The woman said she the door damaged and with a liquid on it.
A neighbor told police he heard the banging and looked out his peephole. He saw two men urinating on the door.
When police contacted the man, he said he picked up the beer and left without incident.
Woman accused
of stealing drugs
An Evans man called police Saturday, claiming a housekeeper stole his mother's medication.
The 31-year-old said his mother is in the hospital and his 56-year-old father was at their High Point Way home alone when the housekeeper arrived about 8 a.m. He said she went into his bedroom to get the duster and broom and shut the door behind her. The housekeeper came out, finished cleaning the house and left.
The man said that when he returned home he discovered that some of his mother's prescription medications had been taken from a container in a dresser and 28 methadone pills were missing.
Profile attracts unwanted calls
A woman said she discovered an obscene online profile in her name on an social networking site.
The 22-year-old woman told police Friday that she received numerous phone calls from men asking for sexual favors. A caller told the woman he had gotten her information from the social networking site www.MoCoSpace.com.
When she looked up the site, the woman said she found someone had created an account with her name, picture and phone number. The profile also contained promises of sexual favors and preferences.
The woman said she had to change her phone number.
Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue report for August 8-14:
Structure fires, three; wood/brush/grass fire, one; controlled/ unauthorized burn, one; activated fire alarms, six; gas line rupture, one; medical incidents, 27; vehicle accidents, seven; electrical incident, one; investigate various incidents, seven; assist citizens, four; and mutual aid/public safety assistance, one.