Theft by taking

July 11 – A Richmond Hill resident reported a theft from his property, after unknown suspect(s) took five cases of beer from the fridge he has located "under his shed in the backyard." The stash included two cases of Miller Lite and three cases of Natural Light.

The thefts were reportedly done on two separate occasions and were estimated to be valued at a total of about $100.

July 12 – While on patrol, the deputy was at the Zip-N on Hwy. 144. He saw a Ford F150 pull into the parking lot and watched as it "ran up on top of the curb and almost hit a tree in the grass area." The truck allegedly then tried to turn around, despite a steel barrier and yellow "caution" tape around an open gas cover nearby. "The vehicle then began to back up and almost hit the gas pumps," the report said. The deputy initiated a traffic stop before the truck could drive off and while talking to the driver, "detected the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath and person." When asked if he’d been drinking, the driver said no.

The deputy asked the man to step out of the truck and noted he was "very unsteady on his feet." He allegedly agreed to a preliminary breath test, where he blew a .269 BAC and the deputy told him he was under arrest.

"In an aggressive manner, (the man) took a step away from me and began to take his shirt off, saying ‘I’m going home,’" the report said. The deputy got the man into handcuffs and put him in the back of his patrol car, where the man started "yelling and cursing" and asking for "a blood draw." EMS met the deputy at the Sheriff’s Office to take a blood sample and the man was issued citations for the DUI and was then taken to the jail.

July 13 – Police responded to Andy’s market after a fake $100 bill was reported. The complainant, the manager, said a cashier had checked the $100 bill with the counterfeit pen and the ink had turned dark brown, "as it should when a bill is counterfeit." The reporting officer verified the pen test but said the bill was "very accurate, even including the watermark of Benjamin Franklin," the report said.

The lady said she had received the bill from the First Bank of Coastal Georgia when she cashed her social security check, "as she had done at this same bank for years." The woman was given a property receipt for the bill, which was placed in evidence.

A detective later brought the bill to the bank, "to show them and check the machine." According to the bank’s machine, the bill was legit. However, while the detective was there, the teller checked the bill with a counterfeit pen, which also showed the bill to be a fake. The bill was kept with investigators, who will be following up with the Secret Service, the report said.

July 16 – When the deputy arrived at the Pembroke residence, the victim was allegedly holding the offender to the ground, "to stop him from fighting." The deputy told the offender he was going to place him in handcuffs until he could figure out what was going on between them. "The offender started to struggle to stop R/O from getting his hands," the report said. "When the victim moved off of the offender, the offender tried to hit him. The offender continued to struggle, trying to stop R/O from placing him in the handcuffs."

When the deputy finally did get the man into cuffs, he had a chance to talk to the alleged victim, who told him he’d heard a lot of banging around outside of his house, because other members of his household had locked the offender out. The report did not elaborate as to why he had been locked out. The victim said he tried to speak to the offender, but the man became "combative," and hit the victim in the face, allegedly breaking the man’s $500 pair of glasses. The offender was brought to the jail and during transport, "started beating on the windows trying to break them."

Suspicious activity

July 8 – Police were dispatched to Fort McAllister after a white Pontiac with North Carolina tags was reportedly parked on the campgrounds without permission. The deputy met with three people who were allegedly standing around the vehicle, who told him "they were homeless and needed a place to stay." All were taken to the St. Anne’s Catholic Church on Hwy. 144 to get information about a shelter. The Department of Family and Children’s Services was contacted in regard to an 11-year-old girl who was allegedly living in the vehicle. The DFACS worker made contact with the three people at the church.

Vehicle fire

July 10 – A fire reportedly broke out on a motorcycle down Oak Level road. When the deputy arrived, he extinguished the fire with a fire extinguisher, the report said. The owner said he had been working on the bike and his girlfriend had taken it out for a test ride when it caught on fire, due to a gas leak from the carburetor. The man didn’t have a VIN number but said it was a Honda 250 Rebel.