Two children were able to flag down a motorist for help after escaping from their Clem home when a fire ignited from an unattended pot of cooking oil Saturday.

Carroll County Fire and Rescue Deputy Chief Bud Benefield said the motorists called 911 for the siblings outside their house on Old Newnan Road.

The two children, ages 12 and 13, were at home alone cooking when they left the pot of oil unattended to watch television in the living room. A small fire started on the stove, according to fire officials, and caused minor smoke damage in the home.

“The kids escaped injury by wisely and quickly leaving the home to go outside and seek help,” Benefield said.

The children’s mother was called by firefighters to alert her to the situation, and Benefield said it was recommend the children limit their cooking activities to only when supervised by an adult.

• Carrollton resident Travarus Cortiez Wilson, 24, also known as “Mad Dog,” was indicted by a Carroll County grand jury Monday on 11 charges including malice murder in the shooting death of Ramond Johnson, 25, of Carrollton, and wounding another man, Rahmere Cowling, 21, of Hampton, on Jan. 30 at the Campus Quad Apartments on Columbia Drive.

• Carrollton police Capt. Chris Dobbs said a 26-year-old Carrollton man was arrested and charged with misdemeanor shoplifting Tuesday after he allegedly stole some DVDs and told police he needed the money after losing his job.

Dobbs said loss-prevention officers at the Wal-Mart on Highway 27 saw the man in the electronics department picking up DVDs before he walked to the paint department and shoved the movies down his pants.

He was stopped by security when he tried to walk out of the store without paying, according to Dobbs. The man allegedly told police “times are tough” after being unemployed and he needed the movies to make extra money.

Police said the total value of the three DVDs stolen was $52.

• On Tuesday at around 11:30 a.m., Dobbs said police were sent to the Citi Trends store on Bankhead Highway after two Hispanic men allegedly stole some merchandise.

Police saw the SUV believed to have been used as the getaway vehicle based on employees’ description parked at the Food Depot in Carrollton shortly after the alleged incident occurred.

Dobbs said a 34-year-old Roopville man was charged with misdemeanor shoplifting after a pair of $12 jeans with the store’s security tag still attached was found stuffed behind a rear spare tire.

The man told police, according to Dobbs, that he was innocent and had dropped off two men asking for a ride to the grocery store.

When officers had a Citi Trends employee drive by the man, police said he was positively identified as the man involved in the shoplifting. Police continue to search for the second suspect.

• A Carrollton man on Henson Circle reported Tuesday that someone had broken into his home through a rear bedroom window and taken $1,500 in computer equipment.

According to the report, the man said three flat-screen monitors and two Apple iPods were stolen from the bedroom and living room of the house while he was at work.

• Two all-terrain vehicles were impounded after two Temple teenagers were caught driving the low-speed motor vehicles on Holder Road in Temple Tuesday, according to the report.

The older boy, an 18-year-old, was cited for driving a four-wheeler on a county road without insurance.

• On Sunday, a 28-year-old Ranburne, Ala. man and 21-year-old Temple woman, whose names were not released, were charged with violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act after officers found drugs when the car they were in was stopped for a minor traffic infraction on Cedar Street, according to Carrollton police.

Police said less than an ounce of marijuana, several pills of ecstasy and a small amount of methamphetamine were found inside a “Deal or No Deal” board game box in the car.

A .25-caliber handgun was also recovered from the vehicle, according to police.

• Authorities are searching for Emily Paradise, 26, also known as “Emily Arnell,” who is wanted for shoplifting.

Paradise is described as a white female, 5-feet-6, weighing approximately 115 pounds with blonde hair and green eyes. Anyone with any information on the whereabouts of Paradise can contact Crime Stoppers at 770-838-STOP. All callers may remain anonymous, and a cash reward is offered for information leading to an arrest.