The following information was taken from reports from the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office and the Richmond Hill Police Department. The earlier reports would have normally run earlier, but were inadvertently skipped on the Thanksgiving edition:

Dec. 3

Cruelty to animals, misdemeanor — A complainant on Abby Drive in Richmond Hill told a BCSO deputy that a neighbor kicked one of his dogs when it ran out of his house. He told the neighbor not to do that, but she responded, “I’ll kick that dog every time he comes on my property!”

The deputy spoke to the neighbor, who said she did not actually kick the dog, but wanted to protect her dog from the complainant’s much-bigger dog.

The neighbor was advised on the serious health issues that can arise in dog when it’s kicked and that the act would be considered cruelty to an animal. Both parties received case numbers and were told to keep their dogs apart or have them meet under more-controlled circumstances.

Matter of record — A BCSO deputy responded to a complaint of being harassed while driving.

The complainant said that while he was driving southbound on Highway 17 by Clarktown Road, he was behind a vehicle moving slowly in the left lane. The complainant said he flashed his headlights and moved into the right lane to pass. However, the passenger in the other vehicle began throwing “his hands out the window and yelling vulgar language” toward the complainant. Then, the passenger threw something at the complainant’s vehicle that sounded like coins.

The complainant said he was not aware of any major damage to his vehicle and didn’t want to make a report of damage to property. He said other vehicle was a gray or silver Volvo S40 or S60.

Dec. 1

Matter of record — RHPD responded to a complaint from a woman who said she was threatened by a desk clerk at the Motel 6.

The responding officer made contact with the clerk after arriving at the hotel. While he was talking with the clerk, the complainant came into the lobby, became agitated and interrupted the conversation. The complainant showed the officer a white washcloth that had several crawling bugs in it. The complainant said the clerk had threatened to kick her out of the hotel, which the clerk denied.

The clerk also said the complainant had been been moved four times because of bedbug concerns since she registered. The complainant was given the opportunity of a refund, the clerk said, and she accepted “but only after complaining and arguing,” says the report.

The complainant wanted a copy of the report in order to present it to an attorney to sue Motel 6. The officer explained that the incident is a civil matter and that the RHPD would not be involved beyond filing the report.

Homeless subject — A BCSO deputy spoke with a resident on Deer Road in Richmond Hill about a homeless person living in the woods behind his house. According to the report, “the subject has been seen wandering around the neighborhood several times.”

The deputy then spoke with the subject, a male who identified himself as “Phoenix.” The subject said he would leave the area and didn’t want to cause any problems. Several area homeowners were present to see what was going on. A person said they wanted to get a hotel room for Phoenix for a few nights.

The deputy took Phoenix to the Econo Lodge in Richmond Hill.

Dec. 1

Mailboxes/mail damage/destroy — A complainant on Passiac Lane in Richmond Hill called the BCSO after her mailbox was struck.

The complainant said she went outside to investigate a commotion and found that the mailbox had been knocked off its post, which had been pulled from the ground. Also found in the driveway was a small piece of glass, possibly from a passenger-side headlight.

The responding deputy was unable to locate the offending vehicle. The complainant was advised to call the BCSO if she saw a vehicle with front-end damage.

Shoplifting — The manager at the Dollar General Store told an RHPD officer that she observed a white female leave the store with a full bag after entering the business with an empty bag. The manager said she would watch security footage to compile an itemized list of items she believes were taken.

The officer received a photo of the vehicle and license tags of the alleged offenders. The vehicle was a white Coachman recreational vehicle with a black, medium-sized trailer. The vehicle’s registered owner, a male, wasn’t mentioned as a suspect, but the manager said she saw a white male driving the RV.

Nov. 30

Disorderly conduct and theft by taking — An RHPD officer responded to a fight at Taco Bell and received a call en route that an off-duty police officer on the scene broke up the fight, which involved two female subjects.

Subject No. 1 said the fight concerned her taking the debit card of Subject No. 2’s father. Subject No. 1 said she is friends with the other subject and was over at her house earlier that day before going to work. She admitted to taking the card without permission and tried to use it at the Exxon station on Highway 144, but it was declined. She did, however, use it at a nearby McDonald’s.

Subject No. 1 said Subject No. 2 came to her place of employment and demanded she return the debit card. When she did, Subject No. 2 began hitting her in the face, which led to the fight.

The off-duty officer said Subject No. 2’s statement was similar, with her saying that she still wanted to fight even after the card was returned.  Both subjects were arrested.

Subject No. 2’s father arrived and said he didn’t want to press charges at that time for the taking of his card. Subject No. 1’s mother also was on the scene and said to the father that her daughter would get paid at the end of that week and would pay him back. The father was advised that he could still press charges if Subject No. 1 does not come up with the money.

Theft by taking — RHPD responded to a report of a theft at the St. Anne’s Church construction site.
The complainant, who works for the roofing company at the site, said the company’s work trailer was missing from its parking place at the site when he arrived that morning. He added that he found the trailer’s key near where it was parked.

Other workers at the site said the site’s gate was closed when they arrived, but the chain and lock used to secure the gate were missing. The gates had been locked about 3:30 p.m. the previous day.

The officer saw pieces of chain link on the ground.

The roofing company’s field supervisor gave out a description of the trailer, a 2003 model that is 5 feet by 10 feet and grey. Other items that were in the trailer that were missing included a portable power generator, a portable air compressor, a Milwaukee electrical seamer and copper flashing.

Giving false name/info to police — An RHPD officer noticed a white Ford Explorer backing down the southbound on-ramp to Interstate 95, with the vehicle almost being struck by a semi.

When the officer stopped the Explorer on the ramp, a female exited the passenger door. A male was sitting on top of clothing in the backseat. They said they were running out of gas, and both denied driving the Explorer. The report states that both subjects “appeared to be under the influence of a narcotic.”

There also was a 3-year-old boy sitting in the rear seat in a child seat that the officer reports was too large and seemed very old.

The male provided the officer with a name and birthdate, but then changed the birthdate. The officer ran their information and was unable to find the male under the name he gave, but found the female had a suspended driver’s license. Further checking on the male’s name uncovered that he had a different first name, was on parole and was wanted by parole.

The officer returned to the vehicle, where the male gave a different name. His ID was confirmed because of the tattoos listed on his warrant. He was placed under arrest. He later admitted to being the driver.

The office asked the female if she was under the influence; she said that she’d had subutex and had a prescription. A search of the vehicle revealed clonazepam pills and empty pill bottles. One of the pill bottles was for the father of female’s child, but she said she didn’t know how the bottle got into her purse. She also didn’t know how the other pill bottles got in the vehicle, either.

Criminal trespass — A complainant at Plantation Apartments spoke with an RHPD officer about a possible attempted break-in.

She said she had left her apartment Nov. 24 to leave town for Thanksgiving. When she returned Nov. 30, she noticed the screen on her back window had been taken down and sustained damage. Upon inspection of the screen, the officer noted the screen appeared have been pried loose and bent with a flat-edged tool. The window casing showed no further evidence of a break-in, nor were there any collectible foot- or fingerprints.

Also, the scene had been contaminated by the complainant’s younger brother, who had walked around the window and handled everything. The complainant said there was no indication anyone had been in the apartment.