Across the area

Delivery man is robbed while making change

North Augusta authorities are looking for a group of people who robbed a Domino's Pizza delivery man Monday night.

The 27-year-old delivered a pizza to a house at 312 Sycamore Drive just before midnight, according to a North Augusta Public Safety report.

He handed the pizza to the group of several men and women, and while he was making change one of them stole about $20 from his hand, the report said.

They asked for more, and when he refused they ran away. The Aiken County Bloodhound Team was sent to the area but was unable to find any of the robbers.

Ex-teacher jailed over sex with student freed

A former Columbia County teacher convicted of having sex with a student was released from prison last week.

Melissa Lee Chase, a former Harlem High School softball coach, was released from the Augusta-Richmond County Law Enforcement Center on Friday, her attorney, Victor Hawk, said.

Ms. Chase, then 28, was convicted of sexual assault in 2006 for having sex with a 16-year-old girl. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by five years on probation.

The Georgia Court of Appeals upheld the Richmond County Superior Court's ruling that consent was not a defense. The state Supreme Court reversed that decision, saying consent was a defense that should have been allowed at trial. Ms. Chase served 21 months at the Pulaski State Prison in Hawkinsville, Ga., before her recent transfer to the Augusta jail.

Cashier puts squeeze on attempted robber

North Augusta authorities say a man who tried to rob Family Dollar at 617 E. Martintown Road in North Augusta on Tuesday got more than he bargained for.

A female employee told officers that the man walked up to pay for some items about 2:45 p.m., and when she opened the cash register, he tried to take the cash drawer, the Department of Public Safety report states.

The cashier grabbed the man before he could take any money and held on, and the man tried to hit her in the face.

When the cashier let go, the man got into a blue four-door car and drove toward East Martintown Road, the report states. He was described as black and wearing a camouflage hat, blue jeans and a blue T-shirt with cut-off sleeves.

Doctor, 88, is attacked and robbed by gunman

An 88-year-old Augusta doctor told police he was beaten and robbed at gunpoint late Monday.

The victim said he was walking in the 100 block of Rossmore Place, near Perimeter Parkway and Wheeler Road, at about 9:45 p.m. when a man hit him in the back, a Richmond County Sheriff's Office report said.

The victim fell to the ground and was hit in the face with an unknown object, the report said. The assailant took $822 and the man's wallet.

Man charged in wreck after leaving hospital

An Evans man has been released from the hospital and charged in a wreck that seriously injured an Appling woman Monday.

After being released from Medical College of Georgia Hospital on Tuesday, Gregory Teasley, 40, of Faircloth Drive in Evans, was charged with failure to maintain lane, Columbia County sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris said.

The woman, Mari Lee Stewart, 74, of Keg Creek Drive, was in critical condition at the hospital Tuesday.

Mr. Teasley was traveling east on Washington Road near M & M Road in Appling at about 3:30 p.m. when the wreck occurred. Police say he crossed the center line and grazed the side of a truck pulling a camper driven by Brandon Goodwin, 28, of Grovetown. Mr. Teasley's Suzuki Reno then struck Ms. Stewart's Jeep Cherokee head-on, police say.

Judge denies bond for teen-rape suspect

A North Augusta man facing charges of rape and child molestation was denied bond Tuesday.

Kevin B. Allen, 35, has pleaded not guilty in Richmond County Superior Court. Judge James G. Blanchard Jr. denied bond based on the potential threat to the community.

Mr. Allen was indicted after a 14-year-old girl alleged that Mr. Allen raped her Sept. 9 and threatened to throw her in the river, like the other girls, if she told anyone, said Mercy Lineberry of the district attorney's office.

Assistant Public Defender Hugh Hadden said Mr. Allen believes a DNA test will clear him. Mr. Allen has a steady job and strong family connections in the area, his attorney said.