Man might be involved in 19 burglary cases

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Ashley Nicole Pon, 15, was last seen March 10 at her home in the 200 block of Creekview Circle.

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The Aiken County Sheriff's Office believes a Warrenville man arrested in a home invasion is also responsible for 19 outstanding burglary and grand larceny cases, according to spokesman Sgt. Dave Myers.

Justin Lee Turner, 20, of Banion Court, was charged with kidnapping, two counts of weapon possession, 12 counts of second-degree burglary, seven counts of grand larceny and two counts of pointing a firearm.

Turner was arrested after a home invasion at 115 East St. in Beech Island on March 9. The victim told deputies a man broke into her home, pointed a firearm at her and left. Officers found Turner nearby.

Myers said leads from the other 19 cases led to Turner, but he would not provide details on the investigation.

Turner is being held at the Aiken County detention center.

Men turn themselves in to Aiken authorities

Two men wanted in an Aiken shooting last week have turned themselves in.

Lt. David Turno of the Aiken Department of Public Safety said John Henry West, 29, and Bernard Williams Jr., 22, surrendered to authorities Monday.

Both men were charged with two counts of assault and battery with intent to kill and booked into the Aiken County Detention Center, Lt. Turno said in a news release.

1 arrested, 3 sought after car break-ins

One man is under arrest and three others are being sought after deputies confronted men breaking into cars at Augusta Manor Apartments on Mike Padgett Highway on Monday morning.

Xavius Bell, 18, of Holley Street, is charged with four counts of entering an automobile and theft-by-taking a motor vehicle, according to Richmond County sheriff's Investigator Aaron Hannsz.

Deputies were called to the apartments about 4:30 a.m. because someone spotted the men smashing their way into the vehicles, Hannsz said. The men entered eight cars but stole only a few electronic items from one of the cars.

Deputies also recovered a car Hannsz said Bell was attempting to steal and a stolen vehicle that was brought to the location.

Council to consider raising water rates

The Aiken City Council will look into an 11.3 percentage increase in water rates at its April meeting.

During Monday's meeting, City Manager Roger LeDuc cited a $1.2 million deficit in the past year and said the city would continue to run in the red if a rate increase was not approved.

A homeowner using 800 cubic feet of water, which is considered average use, could expect to pay an additional $3.84 a month. LeDuc said additional rainfall and a decline in water hookups contributed to the decrease.

School board to get procedural updates

The Aiken County school board will receive an update tonight on the two-year process to improve the district's discipline procedures.

The committee, led by board member Levi Green, will give an update on efforts to add tribunals to the student appeals process.

The board will also honor Brian Uhle, the state regional Braille Challenge Champion, and Julie Rodriguez, the recipient of the language-hearing professional program of the year award.

The 7 p.m. meeting will be held at 1000 Brookhaven Drive.

Missing teen may have run away, police say

Columbia County police are asking for help locating a missing Martinez teen.

Ashley Nicole Pon, 15, was last seen March 10 at her home in the 200 block of Creekview Circle. Her grandmother said Ashley was wearing black shorts, a brown vest and flip-flops, according to a Columbia County sheriff's report.

Ashley is 5 feet 5 inches tall, 140 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.

Because she has run away many times, she is wearing a court-ordered monitoring device, said sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris, but authorities have been unable to locate her. She is presumed to be staying with friends in the Augusta area, Morris said.

If she is found, Ashley will be charged as an unruly child and taken to the Regional Youth Detention Center, Morris said.

Anyone with information about Ashley's location is asked to call sheriff's office Investigator Stephanie Carani at (706) 541-2862.

USC Aiken professor is Fulbright Scholar

A University of South Carolina Aiken professor was named a Fulbright Scholar and will lecture at the University of Malaysia.

Dr. Sandy Hochel, a distinguished professor emerita of communications, will teach communications courses during the 2010-11 academic year at the university, located at Sarawak on the island of Borneo.

Hochel is one of 1,100 faculty and professionals recognized by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

Recipients are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievements and demonstrated leadership potential in their fields.

Hochel retired from USC Aiken in 2002, after 28 years of teaching. In 2004 she received her first Fulbright Scholar's award and taught in Budapest, Hungary.

TV, DVD player stolen from medical center

Authorities are investigating a break-in at an Augusta medical center last weekend.

Between Friday afternoon and early Monday morning, someone pried open a door at the Summerville Professional Center in the 2200 block of Wrightsboro Road and stole a flat screen television and a DVD player, according to a Richmond County sheriff's report.

The items stolen were worth about $700, and the damage is valued at about $400, according to the report.