Arkansas Police Office Burns After Break-In

Authorities are looking for a thief and an arsonist who broke into an Arkansas Police Department and set it on fire after taking several items.

Cleveland County sheriff’s Dept. Capt. Gary Young says the fire was reported by a newspaper carrier at about 3 a.m. Monday.

Young says the police department side of Rison City Hall sustained severe structural damage and that the city administration side suffered smoke damage.

Young says police records were destroyed but that shouldn’t interfere with any prosecutions. He says prosecutors have their own copies of the records.

Detectives say security cameras at nearby businesses are being checked but that the investigation is just getting under way.

Rison is about 25 miles south of Pine Bluff and has about 1,300 residents.