By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
More than $30,000 missing from account
Hinesville PD blotter for Sept. 12
crimescenetape

From Hinesville Police Department reports:

Multiple traffic offenses: An officer sent shortly before 7 p.m. Sept. 2 to the intersection of Veterans’ Parkway and Highway 84 to investigate an anonymous report of a hit and run of a crosswalk pedestrian traffic light saw the "suspect vehicle" and pulled the driver over.

"(The officer) asked him why he did not stop after hitting the cross walk light," the report said. "He said he pulled into the Lowe’s parking lot and called 911. He said no one answered so he drove off."

The man smelled strongly of alcohol and kept repeating and slurring his words, the report said, and he claimed he hit the pole because his brakes went out. But the officer noted the "vehicle had no trouble stopping when I conducted the traffic stop."

The man said he wouldn’t take any DUI tests and was taken to HPD, where he was cited for DUI and leaving the scene of an accident.

It got worse.

It turns out the man’s insurance was cancelled on Aug. 30 and wasn’t reinstated until Wednesday, which is when the report was completed.

Criminal trespass: A woman reported Wednesday that "sometime in the last week or so, someone put sugar and chocolate in her vehicle’s gas tank. (The woman) said she does not know who or why anyone would do this to her."

The officer spotted "what appeared to be chocolate around the gas tank cap. I did not observe any sugar, however (the woman) advised she vacuumed the area prior to reporting the incident."

Fraud: A woman reported Tuesday she gave an employee her debit card Sept. 3 and asked him to go a convenience store and pick up some Aleve for her, "and nothing else."

Then she checked her bank statement and found the employee had made a withdrawal at the convenience store ATM for $102.95, and two hours later two more withdrawals for $202.95 per withdrawal."

The woman gave copies of her bank statements to police, who are investigating.

Theft by taking: A woman went to HPD on Tuesday to report she had gone to Heritage Bank to put some money into her savings’ account when she noticed it was $30,000 short. "After speaking with a bank employee it was determined that there were five electronic withdraws from her account she didn’t authorize."

In total, the five transactions were for more than $32,000, the woman said. "At this time it is unclear exactly how the funds were removed from the account. (The woman) was informed by the bank to contact them in a few days so that they can look into the matter."

Sign up for our e-newsletters