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:
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Woman said boyfriend choked her, broke ribs
Police are looking for an Evans man they say attacked his live-in girlfriend Tuesday.
An arrest warrant was issued for Anthony Derek Franklin Jr., 25, of Stoneybrooks Place for battery-family violence.
The 25-year-old woman said that at about 9:30 p.m. she was on the porch of their home when Franklin came outside and asked where his video game was. When she said she didn't know, the woman said Franklin got angry and started choking her.
The woman said Franklin chased her inside, where he choked her again, shoved her against a wall, then onto the floor, where he stomped on the right side of her body. She got free and ran outside, where the woman said Franklin grabbed her hair and pulled her back into the house, where he choked her until she passed out.
During the fight, the woman said Franklin told her, "I'm not ready for you to die yet."
When she woke up, the woman said she ran to a neighbor's home and called police. Police found the woman crying, with red marks on her neck and holding her right side in pain. She said that during the stomping she heard cracking sounds. Doctors confirmed that some of her ribs had been broken.
Franklin is white, 5-foot-10, and weighs 160 pounds. Anyone with information concerning his whereabouts should call the Columbia County Sheriff's Office at (706) 541-2800.
Police looking for man using bad travelers checks
Police are looking for a man they say tried to use spent travelers checks at Target and ran from police on Tuesday.
A cashier at the store in Evans approached a supervisor at about 8:30 p.m. and said a man was attempting to purchase nearly $1,500 worth of merchandise, including Bose headphones, two iPods and a GPS unit with travelers checks. He provided a Florida driver's license with a different name, but with his photo. As the supervisor monitored the transaction, she received a call from an employee of the Augusta Target who said someone matching the man's description had made fraudulent purchases at that store.
The supervisor called police and the man left, claiming he needed to go to his vehicle for some cash. The supervisor confirmed with American Express that the travelers checks had already been cashed before the man attempted to use them.
A deputy attempted to stop the man's minivan, but he refused to stop until they reached Broad Street in Augusta. The man and a passenger, later identified as Aamira Nichols, 22, ran away. Nichols was apprehended and charged with obstruction of a police officer.
The man's driver's license and Social Security card were found inside the van.
Nichols, of East 51st Street in Brooklyn, N.Y., is being held in the Columbia County Detention Center without bond, according to jail records.
Someone broke in, raided refrigerator, woman says
An Evans woman called police Tuesday after discovering someone had eaten food out of her refrigerator.
The 60-year-old said she returned to her Nicklaus Court home at about 9:10 p.m. and found an empty jar of spaghetti sauce and a spoon in her dishwasher. When she left for work at about 8 a.m., the jar was in the refrigerator. Nothing appeared to be missing from the home.
The woman said she frequently leaves her house unlocked when she goes to work and no one with regular access to the home moved the jar.