Police Blotter
One released on bond in sex case
//
The first of three men granted bond on Friday in a sexual misconduct case was released last weekend.
A Superior Court Judge granted a $25,000 bond for Jason Scott Turner, 21, of Evans; Robert Lincoln Levy Jr., 19, of Augusta; and Tyler William Davitte, 22, of Martinez.
Turner was released from the Columbia County Detention Center on Friday after posting bond, according to jailers.
A bond hearing for a fourth man arrested in the case -- Clayton Edward Blanton, 21, of Appling -- was delayed until Monday.
All four were charged with aggravated sexual battery. Blanton was also charged with unlawful surveillance. He is accused of recording sexual activities of others in a private place without consent of everyone present.
Police received information Sept. 20 about underage drinking, drug activity and sex crimes at a Martinez home. The investigation revealed that a 19-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by three of the men in August and Blanton recorded video of the incident on his cell phone.
In addition to the bond, Judge William Fleming ordered that Davitte, Tyler and Levy obey a 7 p.m. curfew and have no contact with the victim or witnesses in the case.
The following accounts were taken from reports from The Columbia County Sheriff's Office. Additional reports are available at www.columbia countyso.org:
Man arrested for credit card fraud
A Madison, Ga., man was arrested Thursday, accused of spending more than $12,000 with a stolen credit card.
Clarence Edward Redmond, 48, was charged with two counts of theft by receiving stolen property after police caught him with a trailer of building materials purchased at the Evans Home Depot store with a Hawaiian man's credit card.
An employee of the store at 520 N. Belair Road told police that he received a nearly $6,000 phone order for miscellaneous building materials that were paid for with a Visa credit card. At about 3 p.m. Thursday, a man later identified as Redmond was loading the materials onto a trailer while the employee tried to contact the credit card company due to several similar incidents involving stolen credit cards.
The employee said he was notified of a second purchase made Sept. 2 for more than $6,100 using the same credit card and also picked up by Redmond. While waiting on the credit card company, the employee said Redmond was acting extremely nervous.
When he finished loading the materials, the employee said Redmond quickly left the store without securing the load. While still waiting for the credit card company to call back, the employee said he followed Redmond to the Circle K at Belair and Cox roads, where Redmond stopped to tie down the load.
He continued to follow Redmond onto Interstate 20, where police stopped him near the weigh station.
Police contacted the credit card company, which confirmed the Hawaiian card holder did not make or authorize the purchases. The materials were returned to Home Depot.
Redmond was released from the Columbia County Detention Center Friday after posting a $5,200 bond, according to jail personnel.
Someone tries to burn rented home
Police were called to a Martinez home late Sunday after firefighters discovered possible arson and narcotics.
At about 9 p.m., Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue personnel responded to a home on Dresden Drive for a possible structure fire. The department fire investigator told police that someone tried to set fire to the home by using accelerant on a blanket, which was set on fire near a side door.
The blaze set afire a small portion of the roof, but firefighters were able to extinguish the flames before they spread.
Firefighters told police they found a boiling kettle on the stove, which was on high, several empty pill packages and a bottle with tubes stuck inside the top. Because of the possibility of narcotics, the state fire marshal's office would not respond to an arson investigation request, the fire investigator said.
Police said they were not able to contact the owner, but several neighbors said the current residents were possibly being evicted.
Lakeside student sexually assaulted
A 16-year-old Lakeside High School student told police Thursday that a male classmate assaulted her.
The student said she and her 16-year-old classmate were outside the school between classes at about noon when she allowed him to hug her. The student said her classmate then reached under her dress and assaulted her.
Both students then went to their next class and the student reported the incident to an assistant principal, who called police.
The student's mother said she wanted the incident handled within the school system and did not want to press criminal charges.
Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue report for Sept. 26-Oct. 2:
Medical calls, 15; activated fire alarms, 11; investigations, five; vehicle wrecks, three; controlled/unauthorized burns, two; structure fires; two; wood/brush/grass fires, two; CPR in progress, two; mutual aid, one; activated carbon monoxide detector, one; electrical incident, one; gas line rupture, one; and assist citizens, one.