Manchester Police Dogs Play Key Roles In Recent Suspect Trackings

MANCHESTER, CT — Two Manchester police dogs had two good days respectively on Sunday and Monday.

Just after 1 a.m. on Sunday, the Vernon Police Department responded to a report of a suspicious
vehicle located at 23 Hartford Turnpike. The vehicle was discovered with a smashed window and the headlights were on, according to an incident report.

When arriving at the scene, an officer observed two men in the vicinity of the vehicle who promptly fled. Vernon police established a perimeter and requested the assistance of a canine unit to help catch the men, according to an incident report.

In came Manchester Officer Cory Fullana and police dog Dakota. The suspects had last been seen fleeing into a wooded area behind Key Hyundai, close to the Hockanum River.

With Dakota about to engage in a track, one of the suspects emerged from the wood line and surrendered without resistance. Fullana and Dakota then proceeded to track along a walking path where the suspects were last seen running, according to an incident report. Dakota successfully located the second suspect hiding beneath an embankment in the Hockanum River. He was then taken into custody, police said.

The following night, in Manchester, officers were dispatched to the area of Hilliard Street and Electric Street for a crash involving a car stolen from Newington that was fleeing the scene of a crash, police said.

The three occupants of the stolen car fled the scene and were noticed walking along the the wood line, police said. When the suspects realized they had been spotted, they fled in different directions into the woods.

Officer Danielle Hebert, accompanied by her police dog partner, Enzo, arrived at the location, began a track and discovered one suspect hiding in an alleyway, according to an incident report. He was taken into custody without incident and identified as a known offender with prior arrests related to stolen motor vehicles and a kidnapping charge.

"This individual has been linked to criminal activities involving firearms and has been a suspect in various motor vehicle thefts. Notably, a search conducted incident to the arrest revealed that the suspect was in possession of a key fob for the stolen vehicle," police said.

Police said the investigation into the case remains ongoing, and anyone with information can contact investigators at 860-645-5500.