K-9 Unit assists in arrest

Benny Lee Hamilton

A Russellville man was arrested on Friday after being apprehended by the Russellville Police Department’s K-9 Unit.

Benny Lee Hamilton, 44, of Russellville, was arrested and charged with third-degree burglary, third-degree theft of property, possession of burglar tools and a probation violation, Russellville Police Chief Chris Hargett said.

According to Hargett, the Russellville Police Department received a call early Friday of a suspicious person located in the 1200 block of Harrison Avenue.

Hargett said when officers arrived on the scene, they noticed a male suspect who then fled into a wooded area behind one of the residences.

As officers investigated, they discovered the suspect had allegedly burglarized one of the homes in the 1200 block of Harrison Avenue before police had arrived.

Hargett said patrol units and investigators set up a perimeter around the area where the suspect had disappeared into the woods and called in the RPD’s K-9 Unit to help locate the man.

The K-9 Unit arrived on the scene and entered the woods, and Hargett said the suspect was apprehended a short time later without incident or injury.

According to investigators, this arrest also closed several other thefts that had been reported a day earlier.