Fort Worth Students Get New Bikes After Helping Police Nab Burglary Suspect

Three Fort Worth middle-school students are riding new bicycles after being credited with helping police apprehend a burglary suspect.The incident occurred on March 29, when two officers responded to a call of a suspicious person in the 3500 block of Pecos Street. Having responded to the same address and suspect description the day before, they approached from another direction in hopes of not alerting the suspect.Several blocks away, however, they saw a man matching the description driving a vehicle in the opposite direction.The officers reversed direction and saw the vehicle pull into a residential driveway. When they pulled in behind the vehicle, the driver exited and ran away from the scene.A police helicopter was called as more police units arrived to aid with the search. Then, one officer noticed three boys "waving their arms in the air, desperately trying to get his attention," police said.The sixth-graders, identified as Trevontae Barker, Kenyon Maloney and David Willis, ran toward the officer and asked if police were looking for someone, explaining that a man had offered them each $20 to help him hide, but that they had refused.They said the man had run toward the 3000 block of Lomita Street, and the officer alerted other units, and the helicopter.Police eventually found the man hiding in a closet of a home that was being renovated. He had apparently entered through an open front door as two men laid tile inside with the radio on, unaware he had come in.He was arrested and charged with burglary of a habitation and evading arrest. Inside his car, police found several stolen items and returned them to their owners.In thanks for the boys' effort, Fort Worth Police presented them each bicycles and helmets Thursday afternoon, along with certificates of appreciation.  Continue reading...