Cpl. Bart Veal

Public Information Officer

903-798-3187 (office) 903-798-2368 (pager)

903-824-4199 (cell) 903-798-3023 (fax)

Texarkana Arkansas Police Badge

Re: Thief Caught In The Act, A04-01697

Texarkana Arkansas Patrolmen Johnny McBride and Corey Battle catch a thief in the act. The officers were answering a call about a trespasser at the Headliners, 2425 East when they observed 19 year-old Melvin Rankin of Texarkana Arkansas standing next to a vehicle in the parking lot. They quickly approached Rankin and discovered that he was holding a set of speaker wires in his hand. The driver’s door of the car he was standing next to was slightly open and a back window had been knocked out. Rankin also had cuts on his arms and hands and there was blood in the back of the car. Rankin was placed under arrest and during a pat down for weapons officers located a plastic bag of marijuana in his pocket.

19-year-old Melvin Lee Rankin Jr. was charged with felony Breaking or Entering, Possession of Marijuana, and Public Intoxication. Rankin has prior convictions for Breaking or Entering.