In its first weekend of increased presence in Five Points, the Columbia Police Department arrested 56 people and filed 157 charges, according to a department report released today.
The charges, which were all filed for incidents between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. each day Thursday Friday and Saturday, range from minor offenses like loitering, littering, begging and possession of alcohol by a minor to more serious crimes such as hit and run, driving under the influence and weapons violations. More than a third of the offenses in Five Points from Thursday to Saturday were traffic offenses, according to the records.
The records also indicate that two were charged with weapons violations and another person faces an assault charge after the weekend. The department is also investigating a second assault early Sunday morning on Pavillion Street, which connects Harden Street and Santee Avenue near Martin Luther King Park. A 22-year-old man told police he was walking on the street when he was hit in the head by a hard object, and when he looked up, someone was pointing a revolver at him.
Read the Columbia Police Department’s report on crime in Five Points over the weekend:
