LUFKIN, Texas — Two suspects at the center of a manhunt in Lufkin are in custody after an officer spotted them in a tree line roughly 300 yards from where they ran on foot from their tow truck.
The Lufkin Police Department identified the suspects as Danny Bearden, 39, of Huffman, and Kenneth Black, 41, of Conroe. Both have been charged with felony theft.
Lufkin police were searching for two suspects who abandoned a tow truck off Old Diboll Highway after a vehicle pursuit Tuesday morning.
The two men ran on foot in the 100 block of Pinery Road. Around 10:30 a.m., officers established a perimeter in the Burke area to locate the suspects.
Around 11:45 a.m., an officer found the men hiding in a tree line roughly 300 yards from where they abandoned their tow truck.
Officers searched the tow truck and found a battery-operated Sawzall, which police say is a tool commonly used in burglaries, pipe cutter, and assorted hand tools.
Police say the homemade tow truck appears to have been recently purchased in Houston and spray painted black. The truck still smelled heavily of spray paint.
The men used the tow truck to attempt to steal a pickup truck that was for sale in the old Kmart parking lot. The owner of the pickup noticed their suspicious behavior and called the police, and then followed the men.