Driveway job leads to arrest

Police have arrested a North Augusta man after he was accused of taking advantage of an elderly man during a home-renovation project.

Johnny Wayne Harrison, 29, of the 100 block of Branch Road, was arrested Monday in connection with an April 17 incident in which 88-year-old Roy Delamontte told police he paid Mr. Harrison $3,600 to pave his driveway. It appears the driveway had only been painted, said Richmond County sheriff's Investigator Michelle Walden.

Investigator Walden said she advises that consumers get contracts and estimates that detail what work will be done.

Mr. Harrison was charged with felony theft by deception and was in the Richmond County jail Monday, police said.

Woman charged with arson in fire at house

Aiken County officers arrested a 36-year-old North Augusta woman Sunday in connection with a weekend fire at an abandoned house in Belvedere.

Tina Cowin, of the 2000 block of Celeste Mobile Home Park, was charged with arson, according to a sheriff's report.

Belvedere Volunteer Fire Chief Todd Durrance said a neighbor called 911 just before 10 p.m. Sunday to report a fire at the house on Rosemary Lane, off U.S. Highway 25.

According to the report, the fire department told sheriff's deputies that the fire was suspicious. Ms. Cowin was found hiding in a bedroom of a house next door, the report stated.

She told police that she had built a fire in the fireplace and that that was how the blaze started, the report stated.

Couple made to strip in carjacking case

Richmond County sheriff's deputies are investigating a carjacking Sunday in the 3500 block of Stafford Drive in Hephzibah.

Sheriff's Maj. Ken Autry said Hanson Dixon, 20, told police he and Lashandra Shermann were sitting in his 1994 GMC Suburban in front of her home when they were approached by two armed men.

Mr. Dixon said the men held black guns with long clips and made him and Ms. Shermann get out of the vehicle and strip before the gunmen drove off in the Suburban. No one was arrested, and no descriptions of the carjackers were given.

Woman charged with using children to steal

A 23-year-old mother of three was arrested by Aiken authorities Sunday and charged with using her young children to shoplift from Wal-Mart.

Christy Reynolds Peoples, of the 2000 block of Govan Highway in Barnwell, S.C., as charged with shoplifting, failure to comply with a public safety officer and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

According an Aiken Department of Public Safety report, Ms. Peoples was spotted going into the dressing rooms with her children, two 5-year-olds and a 6-year-old. The report states that she took the tags off swimsuits and put them on the two girls and the boy.

A search of Ms. Peoples and her children found four pairs of boys' shorts, three watches, two women's bikinis that she was wearing, two thong panties, one shirt and two more swimsuits, the report states. The merchandise totaled $127, according to the report.

Federal agency looks into landing at SRS

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a Saturday incident involving a single-engine plane that landed at Savannah River Site.

According to Rob Davis, the communications officer for Wackenhut Services Inc., which provides security for SRS, the pilot was headed to Bush Field from Delaware but had a fuel problem.

Air traffic controllers at Bush Field tried to guide the pilot, Daniel Miller, to the Barnwell County Airport, but he couldn't make it, Mr. Davis said.

Mr. Miller, who was flying a Piper Cherokee two-seater, landed in SRS' railroad classification yard, which is on a remote area of the property, Mr. Davis said.

Mr. Miller was unhurt, but his plane sustained minor damage to the propeller and front landing gear, he said.

Mr. Davis said law enforcement officers determined that Mr. Miller did not pose a security threat.

The PA28 plane, manufactured in 1971 and registered to American Aerospace Corp. in Georgetown, Del., is still on SRS property, Mr. Davis said.

Aiken group will hold forum for candidates

Aiken County Taxpayers Association will hold a forum for candidates who are running for seats in the South Carolina House of Representatives at the Aiken County Council building, 736 Richland Ave., at 7 p.m. Thursday. For more information, call W.W. Ray at (803) 649-2393.

60 companies plan to attend job fair at fort

Fort Gordon will play host for a job fair today at the Army Reserve Center at 15th Street and Lane Avenue, an Army post news release states.

The fair, to be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., is open to people about to leave the military, retirees, veterans, their families and the public.

About 60 companies are scheduled be at the fair, including BellSouth, Delta Air Lines, Northrop Grumman, The Home Depot and Intelligence Careers.

The fair is sponsored by the Georgia Department of Labor and the Army Career and Alumni program. For more information, call (706) 791-2009.

- From staff reports