Police Blotter

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

//

Impersonation leads to arrest, charges

A Harlem man was arrested Monday after three teens said he brandished a gun while claiming to be a police officer.

Stephen Hill Reasoner IV, 25, of Watson Bailey Road, was charged with impersonating a police officer and driving on a suspended license. He was being held in the Columbia County Detention Center on Monday on a $3,700 bond, according to jail records.

An 18-year-old Evans resident told police that just before 10:30 p.m. on Oct. 8 he was driving north on the 800 block of North Belair Road when the driver of a green Nissan Xterra, later identified as Reasoner, approached him from behind and started flashing his headlights. The teen said Reasoner followed as he turned on to Furys Ferry Road, Southern Pines Drive, back onto North Belair and into the parking lot of Wesley United Methodist Church. Reasoner pulled up next to him.

The driver said he got out of his vehicle and asked Reasoner what the problem was. Reasoner pulled out a handgun and told the teen to get back in his car. The teen said Reasoner claimed he had thrown something from his truck that hit and cracked Reasoner's windshield.

A 16-year-old passenger in the truck and a 19-year-old who was following the vehicles said they saw the gun and heard Reasoner claim to be a police officer. Reasoner told the 19-year-old that the gun was issued by the Columbia County Sheriff's Office and that more police were on the way.

The driver said he realized Reasoner was lying when two officers drove past, so he asked to see Reasoner's badge. The teen got into his truck and left.

The 19-year-old said as Reasoner left to follow the truck, Reasoner hit his Jeep, causing minor damage.

The two teens said Reasoner appeared to be fleeing, so they followed him into South Carolina to get a tag number. Reasoner was pulled over and interviewed in McCormick County and was arrested Monday by Columbia County authorities.

Home's Halloween display vandalized

A Grovetown woman told police Friday that someone vandalized her Halloween display.

The 25-year-old said that between 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. someone damaged several decorations in her Corley Circle yard, including ripping apart a straw scarecrow and kicking over a foam tombstone.

The woman found a beer can and used condom in the yard.

Daughter refuses to return vehicle

A Martinez woman called police Saturday after her daughter refused to return her vehicle.

The 56-year-old said that about 9 a.m. Friday she gave her 18-year-old daughter permission to drive her 2007 Jeep Liberty to go to an 11:30 a.m. therapy session in Augusta. She never went to the session.

The woman said that at about 10:30 p.m. she spoke to the therapist, who said she was trying to get the 18-year-old to drive to an inpatient hospital in Statesboro, Ga., to deal with alcohol-related issues.

On Saturday, the woman said she spoke to her daughter, who did not go to the hospital. After numerous calls, the woman said, her daughter refused to return the vehicle.

Man reports excessive texts

A Hephzibah man called police Sunday afternoon after receiving a large number of texts from his ex-girlfriend.

The 46-year-old said he received about 100 text messages from his ex-girlfriend between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. He asked her repeatedly to stop communicating with him.

Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue report for Oct. 10-16:

Medical calls, 15; activated fire alarms, nine; controlled/unauthorized burns, eight; vehicle wrecks, five; investigations, four; wood/brush/grass fires, two; mututal aid/public safety assistance, one; carbon monoxide detector activation, one; and assist citizens, one.