Across the area

• Photos

Man sought in home invasion, robbery

Authorities are looking for a 19-year-old man and two others who are not identified after a 60-year-old Augusta man was robbed at gunpoint Monday in his home.

Lorenzo "Pig" Mitchell Jr. is wanted in a "violent home invasion robbery" in the 200 block of Tubman Street, according to the Richmond County Sheriff's Office.

Game Wong said a blond woman walked into his home, followed by two men. One man put a gun to his head and stole his wallet out of his pocket. They hit him in the left ear and the mouth before running off with the victim in pursuit.

The suspect was last seen with a semiautomatic pistol and is known to frequent the Harrisburg area, according to the Sheriff's Office. A cash reward might be offered for information leading to his capture, the sheriff's office said.

A 17-year-old girl was killed early Monday in a four-wheeler accident in McDuffie County.

Georgia Highway Patrol Cpl. Ritchie Howard said Amber Hinton died of head trauma at about 12:30 a.m.. She was riding on the back of an all-terrain vehicle driven by a 15-year-old boy on Wire Road near the public ball park. The boy, who was not identified because of his age, suffered a broken arm and a head laceration, Cpl. Howard said.

The investigation is continuing, and the possibility of criminal charges will be up to the district attorney, Cpl. Howard said. Witnesses reported that the teenagers were thrown from the vehicle when it was bumped from behind by another four-wheeler.

Firefighters are investigating the cause of a blaze that killed a south Augusta man Monday.

Fire officials would not identify the victim, and a spokeswoman for the coroner's office said she did not have a report. C.A. Reid Sr. Memorial Funeral Home, however, identified the victim as Fred Davis, who was in his mid-50s. Funeral arrangement are incomplete, manager Charlie Reid said.

According to an Augusta-Richmond County Fire Department report, crews were called to the 2000 block of Leona Street at 12:18 a.m. Monday.

The Aiken County Sheriff's Office is still looking for a man in the shooting and stabbing of Derrick Valentine, 22, of Woodleaf Drive, on Sunday.

Mr. Valentine was taken to Medical College of Georgia Hospital, deputies said, but his condition was not released.

The suspect was described as a black man about 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing 150-160 pounds. Anyone with information can contact Aiken County Sheriff's Office Investigator Lynn Ghant at (800) 922-9709 or call Crime stoppers at (888) 559-TIPS.

An Alabama woman said someone in Augusta is enjoying a lot of ham at her expense. Stacy Nicole Erhardt, of Leeds, Ala., was looking at her credit card statement online when she noticed a charge of $168 to a Heavenly Ham in Augusta, a purchase she said she did not make.

Heavenly Hams said it was given the credit card number for a delivery order for a woman calling herself Mary Jones, who signed for the food.

An Augusta woman reported being sexually assaulted in her home early Saturday.

According to a Richmond County Sheriff's Office report, the Gilbert Manor resident said she was in bed when a man entered the room and raped her. She told officers who questioned her in the University Hospital emergency room that the back door of her home had been left unlocked.

A nursing home reported that a 71-year-old patient was assaulted during the weekend.

According to a Richmond County Sheriff's Office report, Fay Jennings told deputies that an elderly patient at Windermere Adult Day Health Center had been struck in the face several times. The man, a stroke victim who suffers from dementia, pulled the hair of a female assistant at the nursing home before he was struck, according to the report.

Burglars struck an empty Augusta house twice in 24 hours. Courtney D. Burton, of Hephzibah, called the Richmond County Sheriff's Office on Saturday to report that someone had burglarized his property in the 1500 block of Bleakley Street. Two toilets, a water heater, blinds and a steel door were taken.

On Sunday, Mr. Burton reported a second burglary. Burglars made off with carpeting, cabinets and blinds. The total estimated loss is $1,015.

A gas station customer found his own way around Sunday's prohibition of alcohol sales, according to a police report.

A clerk at Kangaroo Gas on Wrightsboro Road told Richmond County sheriff's deputies that a man came into the store just before 7 a.m., picked up an 18-pack of Bud Lite and a 12-pack of Budweiser and set them on the counter. When the clerk told him she could not sell alcohol on Sunday, the man walked out with the beer.

An Augusta church reports that someone stole its lawn mower. Ebenezer Seventh-day Adventist Church on Olive Road reported that someone had cut a hole into the side of a shed and pried open the door. Missing is a riding mower valued at about $1,500.

- Edited from staff reports