West Columbia

tCenter Street, 400 block: A woman was arrested at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday after police noticed her swerving in the road as she drove in front of the squad car. The officer followed the woman for almost a mile alternating flashing his lights and sounding the siren for her to pull over. During the chase, the woman kept swerving over the center line but never pulled over until the officer put both his lights and siren on at the same time. When he approached the car, the 31–year–old woman smelled of alcohol and had glassy eyes and slurred speech. The officer asked her why she didn’t pull over sooner and she said she thought he was a friend of hers playing a prank. She admitted having three drinks at a local tavern, and after failing three field sobriety tests, her license was confiscated, and she was taken to jail.

tDreher Road, 200 block: Police arrested a man for assault at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday after officers saw him force a woman into his car. The officers saw the man grab the woman in a parking lot and tussle with her until he got her into the car and drove away. They followed and saw the woman trying to get out of the car. They hit the lights and pulled the man over and questioned the couple separately. Both parties said they were arguing because the 18–year–old woman wanted to go to college in another town and the 19–year–old man didn’t want her to. He said he was just trying to make her understand how much he loved her, but the officers didn’t think his technique was valid so they charged him with assault and took him to jail. The woman declined medical treatment.

tWhiteside Circle, 100 block: A woman called police at 3 p.m. Wednesday after she said a woman she barely knew threatened to beat her up if she didn’t buy drugs from her. The 42–year–old woman told officers the drug dealer was a friend of a friend, and she had no idea how the dealer got her phone number. She said the druggie called her home and wanted her to buy several different kinds of pills from her, but the woman said no. When she refused, the woman said the druggie began yelling and swearing at her and said she was coming over to “attack her in her house.”

tAugusta Road, 2400 block: A 24–year–old man was arrested at 10:30 a.m. Thursday after he decided that smoking a joint while parked in a fire zone was a good idea. An officer noticed the car illegally parked and when he approached the vehicle, the man was happily listening to music and puffing away on a “blunt,” the street name for a marijuana cigarette. The officer asked him why he decided to park in the fire zone, and the man said it was because he just needed to dash into the bank and cash a check. When the officer asked him about the marijuana, the man said it was only one cigarette and worked like a cup of coffee for him. He was charged with possession and taken to jail.

Forest Acres

tTrenholm Road, 500 block: A man was arrested at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday after he sped by a police officer doing 60 mph in a 40 mph zone. When officers pulled the 19 –year–old driver over, he reeked of alcohol and his speech was slurred. They asked him how much he had to drink, and he initially said nothing but then later admitted he could possibly have had four drinks. He failed the field sobriety test and was charged with underage drinking as well as for driving under the influence.

tArlene Drive, 1500 block: Police were called to a home at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday when a couple got into an altercation over a cell phone. The 65–year–old victim told officers that her 78–year–old husband grabbed her by the arm to get a phone out of her hand, but the man said the woman snatched the phone away from him so she could call his son. The man said the son didn’t want to talk to the woman and told her he’d have her arrested if she called him again.