Across the area

Man jailed in home invasion

A Grovetown man was in jail without bond after police charged him in an early-morning home invasion Sunday that sent an 80-year-old woman to the hospital.

Jeremy Ryan Nix, 24, of the 200 block of Louisville Road, was arrested Sunday and charged with aggravated assault, armed robbery, theft by taking and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, according to jail records.

Police said Mr. Nix knocked on the door of Elma Pittman Key, 80, of the 400 block of Carole Drive in Grovetown, at about 3:30 a.m. Sunday and claimed that his car had broken down and he needed to use the phone. Mr. Nix forced his way inside with a handgun and threatened to shoot the woman if she did not give him money, according to a Columbia County sheriff's report.

Mr. Nix took her purse and a set of keys and stole the woman's 1989 Pontiac Grand Prix, the report says.

Columbia County sheriff's investigators canvassed the neighborhood and found a resident who knew Mr. Nix, said sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris.

Fire damages home but injures no one

A fire Monday afternoon at a two-story home in Jones Creek subdivision in Evans caused no injuries and was quickly contained to an upstairs bedroom.

The blaze at 718 Jones Creek Drive was reported to authorities shortly before 6:30 p.m. Firefighters from Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue had the fire extinguished in about 15 minutes.

Martinez-Columbia Battalion Chief Dino Cesarini said at the scene that the cause of the fire was not known but would be investigated. The house is owned by James Wright.

Public safety chief at MCG will leave post

The Medical College of Georgia's director of public safety will resign by the end of the month as the result of an investigation that found problems with his leave time.

Mitchell Jones, 42, will resign May 31 and has already repaid the college for 15 days that it insists he should not have taken. For the past two years, he has battled a serious gastrointestinal illness that left him too sick to work at times, he said.Instead of taking leave some days, he tried to make it up by working after-hours on other days or on weekends in an informal arrangement with an administrator.

"I was trying my best to do what I could," Mr. Jones said.

The official in charge of the investigation, MCG Vice President for Legal Affairs Andrew Newton, said the problems were not the result of anything intentional.

"If it were fraud, we would have treated it differently," he said. "It just wasn't properly done."

Block of Jones Street to be closed for work

The 1200 block of Jones Street will be closed from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday so that workers can park a crane that will be used to install a new fountain in Springfield Park.

Drivers can use Reynolds, Broad, 12th or 13th streets as detours.

Man, 18, is charged with shooting, theft

Police have arrested an 18-year-old Augusta man in connection with a weekend shooting in the 2800 block of Meadowbrook Drive.

Brian Aubrie Dent, of the 3400 block of Chadbourne Street, was charged with aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and theft by receiving stolen property.

According to a Richmond County sheriff's report, Charles Fitzgerald Brown, 18, of the 3500 block of Pebble Creek Drive, was shot in the chest while seated in the back of a car with friends.

Mr. Dent was reportedly in the front of the vehicle.

Augustan charged in break-in, assault

Richmond County sheriff's deputies arrested a 30-year-old Augusta man after an acquaintance said he broke into her home and threatened her with a tire iron in February.

Andre Lamont Easter, of the 1500 block of Wilder Street, was charged with stalking, burglary and aggravated assault.

According to a sheriff's report, Deshawn Coatney, of the 100 block of Carmel Way, said that when Mr. Easter got into her home Feb. 19, she pulled out a pistol. He then ran toward her with the tire iron, at which point she fired twice at him, she said.

Woman is injured in wreck near Edgefield

A 57-year-old Edgefield, S.C., woman was airlifted to Medical College of Georgia Hospital on Monday after the truck she was driving ran off the road into trees, authorities say.

Phyllis M. Holley was ejected from the 1992 Chevrolet pickup, said Lance Cpl. Steve Sluder, spokesman for the South Carolina Highway Patrol. Lance Cpl. Sluder said the wreck occurred around 10 a.m. on Sweetwater Road, about 10 miles south of Edgefield.

Ms. Holley was not wearing her seat belt, he said.

Cathy Gilbert, a spokeswoman for MCG, said Ms. Holley was in good condition.

Columbia County will set up cooling centers

To combat heat-related illnesses as summer approaches, Columbia County Emergency Services is opening five cooling centers.

They will be at Bessie Thomas Community Center, 5913 Euchee Creek Drive, Grovetown; Patriots Park, 5445 Columbia Road, Grovetown; Wesley United Methodist Church, 825 N. Belair Road, Evans; Eubanks Blanchard Community Center, 6868 Cobbham Road, Appling; and the Laurel and Hardy Museum, 250 N. Louisville St., Harlem.

Each center is handicapped-accessible and offers a sitting room. Some centers will provide ice water, television, drink and snack machines or a walking track.

Days and hours of operation vary. For more information, call the Columbia County Emergency Services office at (706) 868-3303.

Pollard is appointed to retirement board

Gov. Sonny Perdue announced Monday the appointment of Griffin B. "Jake" Pollard Jr., of Appling, to the Board of Commissioners of the Superior Court Clerks Retirement Fund.

Mr. Pollard, 74, is a retired Superior Court clerk of Columbia County and a former state senator.

Augusta State to hold campus visitation day

Campus visitation day will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at University Hall at Augusta State University, 2500 Walton Way. Registration will start at 12:45 p.m.

Representatives will be on hand to answer questions and provide information, and tours of student housing and the Walton Way and Wrightsboro Road campuses will be offered.

For more information, call (706) 737-1632.

- From staff reports