Fayette County man claimed to be Texas Ranger
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UNIONTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A western Pennsylvania man has been sentenced to six to 12 months in jail for claiming to be a Texas lawman to avoid arrest last year.
State police say 40-year-old Tony Baysinger, of Connellsville, claimed to be a Texas Ranger after he banged a car with a hammer in a parking lot in December. Baysinger told police he damaged the vehicle because he believed it had been stolen from his mother.
Baysinger was recently found mentally competent to face the charges after treatment for schizophrenia at a state hospital.
His sentence will run concurrently to an identical term he received Thursday for stealing a $1.92 box of cough drops from a Wal-Mart. Baysinger told the judge he’s addicted to the active ingredient which he believes comes from the “tree of life.”