Across the area

Woman spared time in prison

A woman's $27,000 check for restitution and an extra $5,000 fine led a judge to resentence a former bank employee to probation instead of prison.

Chief Judge William M. Fleming Jr. remolded Carla W. Patton's sentence of five years in prison followed by five years' probation to a straight 10-year probation sentence May 30.

Ms. Patton stole nearly $30,000 from Wachovia, where she had worked for 13 years. Her attorney for her remold hearing, Kirk Gilliard, said Ms. Patton's family was in dire financial shape.

Too ashamed to ask her family for help, Ms. Patton turned to embezzlement, Mr. Gilliard said.

Ms. Patton, 35, must also stay away from her former husband as a condition of her release. The restitution to the bank was made immediately May 30.

She has 30 days to pay the $5,000 fine through the Richmond County Superior Court.

Children discover dead man in park

A man was found dead in Citizens' Park at Pine Log and Banks Mill roads in Aiken on Friday, authorities said.

Aiken Public Safety Sgt. David Turno said the unidentified male was in his 50s or 60s. He said authorities do not suspect foul play.

Sgt. Turno said a group of children found the man at 3:22 p.m.

"There were some kids playing soccer nearby. They saw him laying there, but they didn't think anything about it," he said.

After the man did not move for about 45 minutes, he said, the children went to check on him.

Sgt. Turno said an autopsy to be performed in Newberry, S.C., will help determine how long the man was dead before his body was discovered.

Authorities say man assaulted 5-year-old

A McCormick, S.C., man has been arrested and charged with criminal sexual conduct and lewd act upon a minor for a series of sexual assaults on a 5-year-old girl, officials with the Aiken County Sheriff's Office said.

Tracey T. Searles, 34, is charged with six counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct and three counts of lewd act upon a minor.

Mr. Searles surrendered to investigators Thursday afternoon at the Aiken County Sheriff's Office.

Between August 2000 and November 2003, he sexually assaulted the victim on a number of occasions in the bedroom of an Aiken home, authorities said.

Mr. Searles was being held at the Aiken County Detention Center.

Doctor to join human resources board

Augusta physician Murray Freedman will be joining the board that oversees the Georgia Department of Human Resources, Gov. Sonny Perdue announced Friday.

Dr. Freedman will be taking a seat on the Board of Human Resources that had been held by a Savannah physician Iffath Hoskins, who resigned to take a position with the federal government, Perdue spokeswoman Heather Hedrick said.

Dr. Freedman is a member of Augusta GYN Obstetrics and Gynecology and a clinical professor at Medical College of Georgia. He has served as president of the Georgia State OB-GYN Society and is a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the American College of Surgeons.

Man is airlifted to hospital after wreck

An Appling man was airlifted to Medical College of Georgia Hospital on Friday after a single-car wreck in rural Columbia County, police said.

Brandon James Pratt, 20, of Moontown Road, was driving west in a Chevy Prism on Cobbham Road when he car ran off the shoulder, struck several culverts and rolled over, Columbia County sheriff's Maj. Rick Whitaker said.

The crash happened near Gales Road north of Appling at about 6:30 p.m., he said.

The cause of the wreck is not yet known, the major said. A hospital spokeswoman said Mr. Pratt was in good condition Friday night.

Hit-and-run suspect left child in car, police say

An Augusta man who sped away from the scene of a hit-and-run accident Thursday was arrested and accused of child cruelty after he jumped out of his moving vehicle, leaving a 4-year-old inside.

According to a Richmond County sheriff's report, Thomas Linwood Byrd, of the 2800 block of Thomas Lane, drove away from the accident at the corner of 12th and Greene streets.

When a sheriff's deputy tried to pull him over, Mr. Byrd sped away. Another deputy then spotted Mr. Byrd traveling down R.A. Dent Boulevard, where he turned onto Goss Lane and jumped out of his vehicle. The report said a witness chased after the vehicle and was able to stop it. The child was turned over to his grandmother.

The grandmother told deputies that Mr. Byrd probably ran to his sister's home at Gilbert Manor Apartments. When deputies arrived at the apartment, they found Mr. Byrd in a bedroom closet. He was taken into custody and arrested.

Man says insurance card was misused

An Augusta man discovered he was the victim of identity theft Thursday when he went to a local hospital for treatment and was told someone had used his insurance card there earlier that day.

According to a Richmond County sheriff's report, Gary Hammond, 23, said he arrived at St. Joseph Hospital seeking assistance with a hurt finger when he was informed that someone used his insurance card two hours earlier to receive treatment for mouth pain.

Mr. Hammond said his wallet was stolen from his vehicle two months ago.

Harassing phone calls lead to man's arrest

A man who made several harassing phone calls to a home was arrested Thursday after a deputy who went to the residence answered one of the calls.

According to a Richmond County sheriff's report, Norman Charles Bartlett, of the 100 block of Griswood Drive in Martinez, kept calling the home of his estranged wife.

When a deputy went to the residence, he answered one of the calls and instructed Mr. Bartlett to stop calling, but Mr. Bartlett said he would not. Using the information from caller ID, the deputy tracked Mr. Bartlett down and arrested him.

Public is invited to Fort Gordon briefing

Military retirees and citizens in the Augusta area are invited to Fort Gordon's monthly community information briefing June 21.

It will be held at 11:30 a.m. in the Gordon Club on 19th Street, according to the fort.

The next community information briefing will be July 19.

For more information, call (706) 791-3639.

- From staff reports