July 23
Operating motor vehicle with license suspended or revoked
Possession of open alcohol container
Seat belt violation
While patrolling Long Bridge Road, a deputy spotted a pickup with a driver not wearing a seat belt. During the traffic stop, the deputy noticed the odor of an alcoholic beverage and an opened 12-pack of beer on the floorboard.

The driver, who had a limited permit/probationary license, said he had not been drinking and that he was trying to get his life straightened out. He also said he had just left work and he was on his way home, and added he and his wife were in the process of getting a divorce and he had stopped by a store to get beer. He also said he had given a friend from work a beer.

There also were empty beer cans matching the brand of the opened 12-pack inside the truck. The driver said he and his buddy had consumed those the night before and that’s where they threw the empties. A breathalyzer test came back positive for alcohol, and the deputy also found a cold beer can under the driver’s seat. The remaining cans in the pack also were cold to the touch.

July 26
DUI
Public drunkenness
A deputy was inside a Guyton convenience store when he saw a SUV park, and the driver had trouble keep his balance after he got out of the vehicle. The driver walked past the deputy and had a strong odor of alcohol. When asked if he had been drinking, the driver said no, that he was the designated driver for his wife and friend, who appeared very inebriated. The driver looked flush and his eyes were bloodshot.

After being asked again if he had been drinking, the driver admitted he had been. He was placed under arrest, and his passengers were picked up by a family member.

July 26
Suspicious incident
A Meldrim man told deputies he had gotten a text message from an unknown number that said, “OK I dumped the body in the woods, where u at.” He tried calling the number back, but the person on the other end hung up on him. The number was traced through the cell provider, and it came back to a friend of the complainant, who had sent the text message as a joke.

July 27
Burglary - first degree
Deputies responded to a call from a Little McCall Road resident who said he returned from a weekend of camping to discover someone had broken into his home. The victim said he went straight to his bedroom and saw his belongings were all over the floor. He told deputies several of his guns were missing. He told deputies an old friend had told him if he broke into someone’s home, he would do so using spark plugs, and the victim found a spark plug by the back door window.

July 27
Violation of conditions on limited driving permit
A deputy was parked at a Rincon gas station when he saw two cars pull up side-by-side and park. The driver of one vehicle went into the store and the other car left. The deputy followed and turned on his lights, and the driver returned to the gas station, pulling up to a gas pump as the deputy, with his lights still going, pulled in behind.  The deputy asked the driver why he left and came back and noticed the driver had a laceration on his nose and his cheek was red and swollen. The driver said he had been at a Pooler bar and had a few beers, and he had been assaulted by a man who thought the driver had violated his girlfriend. The driver’s license had a limited DUI driving permit.

July 29
Criminal trespass
A man discovered someone had left dead fish in his mail box and in his newspaper delivery tube. He said he had not had any problems with anyone in the past and could not think of who would have done this.

July 30
A woman came to the sheriff’s office to say someone had stuffed her mailbox with dead fish.

July 30
Burglary - first degree
Criminal damage to property - first degree
A woman called deputies after finding the home she was renting had been damaged. An employee of the property manager said he saw three teenage boys and two teenage girls enter the house. He called the property manager, who called the property owner, who then called the complainant. Her daughter and grandson had been staying there but moved out weeks before. She had returned several times to clean the house and it was not locked. The owner said he wanted to show it to potential renters.

Deputies found extensive damage in every room, with holes either punched or kicked into the majority of the sheet rock, cabinets ripped from walls, the refrigerator had been upended, a rear window was broken and every interior door had been torn down.