Man charged in rape case
An Augusta man was arrested Tuesday on charges of rape and false imprisonment of a woman at his home, according to the Richmond County Sheriff's Office.
Derrick Dewayne Willis, 38, of the 2200 block of Darlington Drive, is accused of dragging the 34-year-old woman into a bedroom and raping her when she came to the apartment to retrieve a cell phone at 8 a.m., a police report states.
Woman reports theft of $62,000 in jewelry
A Florida woman told the Richmond County Sheriff's Office that someone stole jewelry worth $62,000 from her suitcase at a home in Hephzibah.
Dedra E. Carrasco, 45, of New Port Richey, Fla., said she didn't know who took a three-carat diamond solitaire ring, a diamond tennis bracelet and a gold necklace with a two-carat diamond pendant from her suitcase inside the home in the 2400 block of Plantation Road.
The suitcase was in the home's hallway when authorities arrived to investigate shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday. There were no signs of forced entry, according to a police report.
Diner says someone stole $2,200 from car
Someone stole $2,200 from a vehicle in the parking lot of Church's Chicken at 2823 Washington Road just before noon Tuesday, according to the Richmond County Sheriff's Office.
Augusta resident Mansour Mohamed, 50, told authorities he had withdrawn the money for his business from the Bank of America at 3509 Wheeler Road and left it in a black bag behind the seat of his 1990 Nissan D21 pickup when he stopped at the restaurant to eat.
When he sat down in sight of his vehicle after ordering his food, he saw that the driver's-side window had been broken out, an incident report says. When he went out to look in the truck, he discovered that the bag and money were missing.
Aiken woman reports attempted robbery
A 28-year-old Aiken woman told Aiken County sheriff's authorities on Tuesday that she was nearly robbed at gunpoint.
Wandy Green said a 31-year-old man she knows pulled two small pistols on Greenbrush Road and told her he was "broke and needed money," according to a sheriff's report.
He ran away when she told him she didn't have anything to give him, the report says.
Two shooting victims remain in hospitals
The Richmond County Sheriff's Office said two men hurt in separate shootings this week remained at hospitals Wednesday.
Sgt. Calvin Chew said Thomas Prentice, 30, was in fair condition at Medical College of Georgia Hospital and Lonzie Arthur Palmer, 19, was in serious condition.
Hospital officials are not releasing information on the men's conditions.
Mr. Prentice was shot Tuesday afternoon in the 1800 block of Tubman Home Road while trying to escape two men who had robbed him, police said. Mr. Palmer was shot Monday at a home in the city's Sand Hills neighborhood.
Charges are upgraded against Aiken resident
An Aiken man faces upgraded charges at the Richmond County jail in connection with a February assault at an Augusta motel, police said.
Charles Adrian Greene, 48, of Old Graniteville Highway, originally faced false imprisonment and battery charges in an assault involving his sister Stephanie M. Rice, 45, of Hephzibah.
A Feb. 26 police report states that Mr. Green held Ms. Rice against her will inside a room at the Budget Inn, 1616 Gordon Highway, striking her head against a bed frame while dragging her by her hair across the room.
On Tuesday, Richmond County sheriff's Sgt. Calvin Chew said Mr. Green's recent charges stem from a grand jury arrest warrant, resulting in the added charges of kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault and terroristic threats, a jail report stated.
Mr. Greene remained in jail Wednesday night without bond.
Sylvania wreck victim in Savannah hospital
A Sylvania, Ga., man injured in an accident Tuesday remained at a coastal Georgia hospital Wednesday.
Kenneth Bradley Morton, 21, was in serious condition at Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, a spokesman said.
Authorities said Mr. Morton was airlifted to the hospital early Tuesday after his 1994 Chevrolet S-10 collided with a 2006 Ford F-150 pickup driven by Robert Livingston Mills.
The accident happened on Georgia Highway 24 at Brannens Bridge Road, about six miles outside Sylvania.
Deputies on hunt for vending machine thief
Richmond County sheriff's investigators are seeking information in the theft of money from vending machines at the city's downtown bus station, officials said Wednesday.
Investigator Horace Anderson said that on April 4, a man unlocked vending machines at the bus station in the 1100 block of Greene Street and took money.
When a witness tried to confront him, the man fled in a green SUV with a license plate that included the letters ALC or ACL, the investigator said.
The suspect is described as a white male, 5 feet 5 inches tall, 150 pounds, with blond hair down to his ears. He was wearing brown-framed glasses and khaki shorts.
- From staff reports
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012 Morris Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
