Skip to content

VicPD service dog tracks down break and enter suspect

‘Johnny’ helps officers locate hiding suspect in Moss Steet break-in
21278517_web1_200415-VNE-VicPD-Johnny-Dog_1
VicPD K9 officer Johnny helped his team arrest a break and enter suspect Sunday morning. (Courtesy of VicPD)

A dedicated, four-legged member of the Victoria Police Department is the reason a break and enter suspect is now in police custody.

VicPD K9 Police Service Dog (PSD) Johnny joined patrol officers and the VicPD K9 team early Sunday morning when they were called to a report of a break and enter at a multi-unit residential building in the 1000-block of Moss Street. According to police, a resident confronted a man he discovered on his second-floor balcony and the man quickly fled the scene.

READ ALSO: Victoria police K9 unit helps make arrests in Esquimalt after early morning break-in

When police – and Johnny – arrived, they began searching for the suspect, but while officers worked to locate him, they were interrupted by calls for a number of attempted break-ins in the area. About an hour after the first call, police learned the suspect was in the backyard of a home in the 900-block of Covent Place. When they arrived, he fled the scene again – this time with police hot on his tail as he ran through several yards.

While human officers did their best to catch up with the elusive suspect, it was PSD Johnny who found him hiding behind a multi-unit building on Trutch Street. Johnny and the patrol officers took the man into custody without incident or injury.

Police say the man was transported to jail and held for a morning tele-bail conference.

The arrests are yet another success for Johnny, who was also responsible for helping officers arrest two break and enter suspects in Esquimalt in February.

READ ALSO: Greater Victoria bride sees photos of herself online two years after camera was stolen



nina.grossman@blackpress.ca

Follow us on Instagram Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.