State hospital patient escapes
2 businesses burglarized
BY LELAND ACKER STAFF WRITER

A patient who walked away from Rusk State Hospital broke into two local businesses, said Rusk Assistant Police Chief Roy Cavazoz.

Mr. Cavazoz said the patient broke into the Dollar General Store and Wallace-Thompson Hardware. He said things got started when a burglar alarm was tripped at 9:45 p.m. Sunday at Dollar General on Sixth Street in Rusk. Mr. Cavazoz said officers who were en route to the store passed a man riding a bicycle toward downtown.

Upon noticing the break-in at the store, officers returned to search for the man on the bicycle. They found the bicycle and the items which had been taken from Dollar General behind J&P Kwik Stop on Sixth Street.

During the course of the evening, the man allegedly broke into Wallace Thompson Hardware Store, on the square in Rusk. Police caught up with the suspect when Whataburger employees called to report a suspicious person. Items taken from both businesses were recovered.

Rusk police officers Lt. Stephen Hughes, Troy Ansley, Earl Dominy and Jeremy Jackson worked the case. Mr. Cavazoz said the case would be sent to the district attorney's office.