Across the area

Police offer reward in man's beating, robbery

Police are offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the Nov. 23 beating and robbery of a man inside the Augusta Mall.

Lawrence Stephens, 54, was in the Sears restroom when someone grabbed him from behind, according to a Richmond County Sheriff's Office report.

Another person began hitting him in the face and body, the report said. The robbers stole his cash and wallet and fled. Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's office at (706) 821-1080 or the office's tip line at (866) 939-5050. Callers can remain anonymous.

Columbia man arrested for soliciting minor

A Columbia man was arrested in an undercover sting by the Aiken County Sheriff's Office, according to the South Carolina Attorney General's Office.

Mark William Harris, 30, was arrested Friday on one count of criminal solicitation of a minor and one count of attempted criminal sexual conduct with a minor, according to the news release. Arrest warrants allege that on Thursday Mr. Harris solicited sex on the Internet from an individual he believed to be a 13-year-old girl. In reality, he was communicating with an undercover Aiken County sheriff's deputy.

Women's charges are upgraded after fight

Charges against three high school students who were arrested Friday after a fight at an Academy of Richmond County basketball game were upgraded Monday. Shaquana Nicole Walker, 18, of Pepperidge Drive; Amber Shantrice Ayers, 18, of Essie McIntyre Boulevard; and Antonia Dubois, 18, of Bahama Drive, now face one count each of battery and disruption of public school, according to a county sheriff's jail committal. Ms. Dubois faces a simple battery charge also, reports show. The women are accused of a "violent and brutal physical altercation."

Lakeside senior is 4th in national competition

A Lakeside High School senior has placed fourth in a national math and science competition.

The finish earned Jimmy Meixiong, 17, a $30,000 scholarship from the Siemens Foundation, which sponsored the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology.

Jimmy was one of six individual competitors and six teams from across the country to earn a trip to New York to compete in the finals held over the weekend. His project was "Inhibition of Bax/Bak Activation by Mitochondrial Fusion: A Novel Mechanism to Block Programmed Cell Death."