Man crossing street killed after two vehicles hit him
An Augusta man died after being hit by two vehicles at Belair and Owens roads in Evans late Saturday.
Columbia County Deputy Coroner Harriett Garrison said Steven Gonzales, 45, of Buckhead Court, had parked his motorcycle at Circle K and walked across the street to eat at Rhinehart's Oyster Bar. He was walking back to his motorcycle about 11 p.m. when he was hit by two vehicles on Belair Road.
He died at the scene of blunt-force body trauma and a closed head injury, Garrison said. Neither driver is being charged, she said.
No one injured in fire
Seven renters escaped injury Thursday when their home was seriously damaged by fire.
Firefighters responded to 911 calls at 5109 Columbia Road, just east of Hereford Farm Road, shortly before 8 p.m. The rear section of the roof was on fire but was quickly extinguished, said Honey Shore, Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue spokeswoman.
The brick home is owned by James and Laura Jarrett.
The fire started in the area of a fireplace, but the exact cause was not determined, Shore said.
The following accounts were taken from reports from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. Additional reports are available at www.columbiacountyso.org:
'Lottery' prize mushrooms
Two men repeatedly called an Evans woman's home after she refused to pay a fee to receive lottery winnings.
She told police she received numerous calls from two men saying she had won a lottery and needed to pay $60 to receive the winnings. The callers insisted that if she sent a money order to Ryan Ellis in Kingston, Jamaica, a camera crew would come to her house with an $18,000 check.
After she said $18,000 isn't much money, the callers changed the winnings to $1 million. They urged her to go to the nearest Walmart to send the money order.
She told them she needed to go to a conference call, told them not to call back and hung up. They called 39 more times.
Shoplifting suspect caught
An Augusta man accused of shoplifting was arrested Saturday after police chased him through an Evans shopping center parking lot.
Police say Christopher Mark Stone, 40, left Kohl's in Mullins Crossing shopping center without paying for more than $250 worth of perfume and cologne. Police, one with a tracking dog, chased Stone, of Memory Lane in Augusta, through the lot. To evade police, he jumped onto the roofs and hoods of two vehicles, causing dents.
Stone resisted officers as they arrested him, injuring an officer's knee. He was bitten several times by the tracking dog.
Stone was charged with felony shoplifting, obstruction and two counts of second-degree criminal damage to property. He was released from the Columbia County Detention Center on Sunday after posting a $12,900 bond, according to jail workers.
Cat wounded in Martinez
A Martinez man discovered Sunday that someone had shot his cat.
He said his blue Russian cat went outside his Quail Springs Circle home but never returned. The man's daughter went looking for the cat.
Police found a wound on the left rear of the cat that appeared to be caused by a small-caliber gun.
Visitors burglarize home
A Martinez woman told police Thursday that she found several items missing from her home after making two of her daughter's friends leave.
She said she returned to her Maple Creek Drive residence about 10:15 p.m. and found two men in the living room with her daughter. She told them to leave, then went upstairs to her bedroom.
She noticed her dresser was open and rifled, and a 1898 silver dollar was missing. In the bathroom, someone had gone through her jewelry box and stolen her wedding ring. Also missing was a Nintendo game console, games and a cell phone from her son's bedroom.
Martinez Columbia Fire Rescue report for Jan. 3-9, 2010: Structure fires, six; wood/brush/grass fire, one; controlled/ unauthorized burns, two; dumpster fire, one; other fire, one; activated fire alarms, 10; activated carbon monoxide detectors, two; gas line ruptures, three; hazardous materials, one; medical incidents, 19; vehicle accidents, five; investigate various incidents, eight; and assist residents, one.
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