Late Night Observation Leads to Recovery of Stolen Items

LIBERTY, November 7, 2009 - City of Liberty Police Officer Frank Longoria was on patrol in Liberty around 1:30 AM on Saturday morning when he noticed an unusual site.

Officer Longoria observed two young men pushing a Wal-Mart Shopping cart south on Main Street near the railroad tracks in downtown Liberty. At this time of the morning Downtown Liberty is disserted and the men were a considerable distance from the Wal-Mart Store located on the SH 146 Bypass.

According to Officer Longoria the men had taken the shopping cart from Wal-Mart. During the investigation the contents of the shopping cart were inspected and one of the men, Mark Meineke age 18 of Liberty, confessed to stealing several butane lighters and a wallet from the store along with the shopping cart.

The men were on their way home from Wal-Mart to the River Bend Campground on US 90 at the Trinity River Bridge with the cart and stolen items from the store.

According to Officer Longoria, Meineke was issued a citation for Theft, a Class C Misdemeanor. The shopping cart and stolen items were returned to Wal-Mart.