Police search for store robbers
Columbia County authorities are searching for a man they say was scared off by a sheriff's deputy while trying to rob a Martinez convenience store Wednesday.
A sheriff's deputy said he was on patrol at the Circle K store, 457 Old Evans Road, about 1 a.m. when he saw a man standing just inside the front doors with a gray T-shirt wrapped around his face.
The man saw the patrol car and ran out along a fence behind the store, according to a sheriff's office incident report.
The clerk told police that she had been standing in front of the store when the man approached her, pointed a handgun at her and forced her back inside, the report stated. The robber demanded money, but saw the patrol car and fled before the clerk could comply.
The deputy said the robber was black and wore a white T-shirt, black shorts -- and a gray T-shirt wrapped around his face.
Police with tracking dogs searched the area but were unable to find the man.
2 men sought in jewelry store heist
Authorities are trying to identify two men in connection with the Sept. 10 robbery of a Martinez jewelry store.
Police arrested two people -- Gerson Romero, 25, and Elisa Johanna Martinez, 24 -- shortly after four people used guns and knives to rob the Gold Shop, 3817 Washington Road.
Three people entered the store and demanded jewelry. They also stole an employee's Ford Mustang, which was found a short time later abandoned at a Murray Road home. Martinez was found under the house, and Romero behind it.
They were charged with armed robbery, theft, possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime and five counts of false imprisonment. They were put into in the Columbia County Detention Center without bond, according to jail records.
Police are searching for two men thought to have fled to South Carolina. Martinez and the two men were seen on the store's surveillance video system the day before the robbery, walking through the store.
These accounts were taken from reports at the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. Reports are available at www.columbiacountyso.org:
Date stole soldier's truck, wallet, phone
A Fort Gordon soldier called police Tuesday after a woman he met online and stayed in a hotel with stole his truck.
The 22-year-old said he had met the woman on a free dating Web site. When he met her Monday evening at America's Best Value Inn on Frontage Road near Interstate 20, she said her name was Amanda Moncrief and was 19.
The soldier said that when he woke up after 6 a.m. Tuesday, she was gone, as were his 2006 Toyota Tundra truck, his wallet and his cell phone.
Girl was at home during burglary
An Evans woman told police Tuesday that her 12-year-old daughter was home alone when burglars kicked in the door.
The girl said she heard the doorbell about 3:30 p.m. She didn't see anyone at the front door and went upstairs. While in the bathroom, she heard what she thought was the back door being kicked in.
She locked the bathroom door and hid in the bathtub until she heard at least two people leave the house. She then called her mother, who called police.
The burglars stole a television set, a document safe and $150. The safe was found about 200 yards from the home.
Electronics taken from tattoo parlor
Someone broke into a Martinez tattoo parlor Tuesday and stole a game console.
The owner of Fine Lines Tattoo, 3731 Washington Road, said that between 10 p.m. Monday and 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, someone broke out the front glass and stole a Sony Playstation 2 game console and a DVD player. The electronics were in the drawer of a TV stand in the lobby.
Gun is stolen from car's open door
An Evans man said Monday that someone stole a gun from his car door while he went into his home.
He said that about 8:30 a.m., he got into his BMW 535i to leave his home but got out to go back inside, leaving the car door open. When he returned to the car about five minutes later, his Springfield ..45-caliber handgun was missing from the driver's door pocket.
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