It’s safe to say few people knew that two convicted violent criminals were in our midst part of the day Wednesday &045;&045; and that’s apparently thanks in large part to a quick-thinking resident and to our own Natchez Police Department.

Having somehow hopped a ride from the Louisiana State Prison at Angola to the Adams County community of Anna, the two maximum security prisoners &045;&045; one a convicted murderer and the other serving a 99-year sentence for armed robbery &045;&045; hitched a ride into town.

That’s when a local resident who works at the prison saw them and alerted police, who quickly apprehended the car and the two men.

The entire incident took just a few hours, and by the end of the afternoon the pair were headed back to Angola with prison guards and Warden Burl Cain.

Cain praised local police for their quick action, calling them &uot;the finest police department in the nation.&uot;

We are proud to be protected by them as well. Faced with a dangerous situation &045;&045; two escaped convicts armed with box cutters and homemade knives &045;&045; six officers arrested the men without incident, then had them shipped back to prison in time to be home for dinner.

What could have been a very scary situation was diffused quickly and professionally.

Nice work.