Officer Gave Ride To Runaway Later Charged In UT Slaying
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AUSTIN (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — An off-duty Central Texas police officer gave a teenage runaway a ride to Austin about 10 days before a college student was slain and the youth was later charged in the killing.
KVUE-TV and the Austin American-Statesman reported Thursday that Georgetown police say the officer broke no policies by helping 17-year-old Meechaiel Criner. Mary Wadley said authorities had told her that her grandson, Meechaiel, was caught shoplifting in McKinney, shortly before he was admitted into an emergency youth homeless shelter in Austin, about 225 miles away.
Criner remains in custody facing a murder charge in the death of University of Texas student Haruka Weiser. Her body was found April 5 in a creek. Weiser grew up in a tight-knit community in Oregon, where she attended an arts magnet school and danced with the Portland Ballet.
Police say the officer, whose name wasn't released, stopped at a Georgetown-area store March 23 where Criner — with blisters on his feet — had been for hours.
The officer, when off-duty, returned with his personal vehicle and drove Criner to a hospital near campus.
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