A man arrested in Hall County in connection to the theft of a church van in Florida scaled the outside of a Gwinnett hospital and jumped to his death upon his release, police said.
Jesse Dean Rust, 29, of Lawrenceville was released on bond from jail at 3:24 a.m. on Friday, July 27, according to Derreck Booth, Hall County Sheriff's Office spokesman.
On July 28 around 7:50 p.m., Rust was seen scaling the outside of Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville, where he then jumped six stories to his death, said Lt. Jake Parker with the Lawrenceville Police Department.
"A witness had called [9-1-1] and said that there was a person climbing on the outside of the building, and in the time that it took for officers to get there, the witness noted that the person had moved out onto a ledge. And as the officers were arriving, [the witness] saw the person jump from the top of the building," said Parker in a phone interview with AccessWDUN.
Rust was pronounced dead on scene.
Police noted that Rust did not get to his position through an open window or unlocked stairway.
"It looks like the way the design of the building is, that he used the design that has some protruding stone on the face of it. He climbed that to the top," said Parker.
Rust was arrested when deputies found him in possession of a church van that had been reported stolen in Florida. He was charged with felony theft by receiving.
