Police K-9 Thunder Helps Find Swampscott Hit-And-Run Driver

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — State Police are lauding the efforts of K-9 Thunder after he helped officers locate a hit-and-run driver in Swampscott who was wanted on weapons charges and who they said was driving a stolen vehicle at the time of the crash.

State Police said Trooper Thomas Janeczak responded to the scene of the crash where they said the suspect was on probation out of Suffolk Superior Court and had the warrant for firearm offenses. Thunder was deployed from Commonwealth Avenue at Humphrey Street, where the suspect was last seen, and he proceeded onto Sculpin Way through a backyard into some woods.

Police said Thunder then jumped on top of a small rock and began "air-scenting, moving side-to-side along the wall, and barking."

Police said Janeczak then commanded the suspect to come out and he did when he was taken into custody.

The suspect was then turned over to Swampscott police.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)