Burglary leads to lockdown of schools

EVANS - Three area schools were locked down for a short time Thursday while authorities searched for a man suspected of breaking into several residences. <br> <br> ``We didn&#39;t know if the suspect was armed or not,&#39;&#39; Columbia County sheriff&#39;s Capt. Bill Probus said. ``We did not want to give him the opportunity to take any hostages or something like that.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Probus said Rufus Huddleston, 28, of Augusta was captured shortly after 2 p.m. an hour after deputies responded to a burglary at the Lakeside Townhomes. <br> <br> Probus said a man entered the apartment by kicking in the back door and was apparently trying to steal a pickle jar filled with coins and a book bag filled with DVDs when he was interrupted by the resident. <br> <br> During the manhunt, authorities asked school officials to keep students inside classrooms with their teachers at Blue Ridge Elementary School, Lakeside Middle School and Lakeside High School.