Police Dog

WAYNESBORO, Pa. -- The Washington Township (Pa.) Supervisors on Monday accepted the first donation for obtaining a trained police dog for use by township officers. Waynesboro Area Senior High School student Jasmine Kimbrough presented the township with $250 as part of her graduation project. The contribution will be put in the bank to gather interest, and it will only be used for a dog or related expenses, Township Manager Mike Christopher said. Supervisors Chairman Stephen Kulla asked whether the K-9 project had moved out of the discussion phases, to which other township officials answered it had not. Supervisor Elaine Gladhill said the township received an offer last year to receive a donated dog. However, an officer and trainer worked with that dog, and the animal was not a good fit, she said.

By CLYDE FORD Staff Writer, Charles Town CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - For years, Eiko, a German shepherd, had the distinction of being Charles Town's first police dog as he rode on patrol with his partner, Charles Town Police Sgt. R.J. James. Eiko once tackled a police officer being kicked by a suspect and on another occasion went to the aid of a teenage girl who had been sexually assaulted and then tracked down her attacker. But the dog was probably best known to thousands of Jefferson County school children who watched him perform at demonstrations.

A police dog has found traces of accelerant in the debris of a Quincy Township, Pa., home destroyed by fire earlier this week. “He alerted in several sports for ignitable liquids,” said Jeff Sarver, a Pennsylvania State Police fire marshal. On Wednesday, Sarver said investigators packaged several samples to send to a crime lab for testing. Firefighters were called at about 1:22 a.m. Monday to a blaze at 9456 Masters Road in the Gap area. Initial reports indicated a person might be trapped inside the ranch-style house, but fire officials said that person was actually away from the property.

By BRENDAN KIRBY Staff Writer Officials at the Washington County Detention Center brought in a police dog from the Hagerstown City Police at about 9 p.m. Sunday night after roughly 60 inmates refused to move from the gymnasium to their cells, officials said. Lt. Van Evans, the facility's warden, said officials called for assistance when the inmates refused to lock down. Evans, who was at home during the disturbance, said the inmates went quietly after the dog arrived.

Butch, a German shepherd K-9 police dog and partner of Berkeley Springs Police Chief Craig Pearrell, was put down Saturday morning. The dog recently had a health problem, suffering a series of seizures, according to a news release issued by Pearrell. Butch became the town's K-9 officer in February 2007. He was purchased from Mike Mayes of Battle Ridge K-9 with funding from local citizens and businesses. During his five years of service, Butch was responsible for hundreds of drug busts, assisting with crowd control and assisting in the tracking of lost residents in the local area.

A man who died after being shot in an apartment in the 100 block of Randolph Avenue Saturday night has been identified as 26-year-old Steven Andrew Obrien, and police are continuing to investigate his death, a Hagerstown Police Department spokesman said Sunday. Obrien's body was sent to Baltimore for an autopsy, which determined Obrien died of a gunshot wound, Lt. Tom Langston said. Langston said he could not go into detail about the nature of Obrien's wounds. Police were called at 7:10 p.m. Saturday to the scene, which was a second-floor apartment.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A purse was snatched from a 70-year-old woman at the Martin's Food Store on South Raleigh Street Friday afternoon, according to Martinsburg City Police. Police responded to the location and caught two teenagers matching the description of the suspects. The teens were arraigned before Berkeley County Magistrate Joan Bragg and placed in juvenile detention centers, police said. A police dog recovered the woman's pocketbook behind the Stonewall Haven apartment complex, police said.

WILLIAMSPORT -- Police cruisers crawled up and down Donelson Drive Friday morning as officers scanned the residential neighborhood for a man who robbed the Washington County Teachers Federal Credit Union. Police said the robber got away with more than $2,000. Officers from Maryland State Police, the Hagerstown Police Department and the Washington County Sheriff's Department used a police dog and a helicopter in their efforts to find the man who police said robbed the credit union at 16802 Virginia Ave. at 9:20 a.m. The robber remained at large Friday evening, police said.

Man bite initiates K-9 bill ANNAPOLIS - Eno was trying to subdue a man in Thurmont, Md., as part of his job with the Frederick County Sheriff's Department last week when the man took a bite out of the 3-year-old German shepherd's ear. The man-bites-dog story is no joking matter to the dog's handler, Cpl. John Williams, who joined other police officials Tuesday in support of legislation that would impose civil penalties on people who...

julieg@herald-mail.com Five Boonsboro High School students were suspended Friday and at least three of them were charged by the Washington County Sheriff's Department after a canine unit patrolled the school's parking lot, school officials and police said. Washington County high schools are patrolled by a drug-sniffing dog one to four times a school year, Board of Education spokeswoman Carol Mowen and Boonsboro High Principal Richard Akers said. The dog usually doesn't find anything, Akers said.

A man who claimed he had a gun made off with an undisclosed amount of money in a robbery Monday morning at a Susquehanna Bank on Frederick Street in Hagerstown, according to a Hagerstown Police Department spokesman. The robbery at 940 Frederick St., was called in at 11:13 a.m., according to a Washington County 911 supervisor. The man passed a note inside the bank and the message demanded money, said Detective Sgt. Jim Hurd. The man also said in the note that he had a gun but he did not show one, Hurd said.

A man who died after being shot in an apartment in the 100 block of Randolph Avenue Saturday night has been identified as 26-year-old Steven Andrew Obrien, and police are continuing to investigate his death, a Hagerstown Police Department spokesman said Sunday. Obrien's body was sent to Baltimore for an autopsy, which determined Obrien died of a gunshot wound, Lt. Tom Langston said. Langston said he could not go into detail about the nature of Obrien's wounds. Police were called at 7:10 p.m. Saturday to the scene, which was a second-floor apartment.

The AC&T gas station at 724 Frederick St. in Hagerstown, was robbed Wednesday night, the third reported robbery at the business in the last two weeks, according to a Hagerstown Police Department spokesman. A white male with dark clothing, a mask and gloves entered the station and demanded money, Sgt. John Lehman said. No weapon was displayed and the male left the station with an undisclosed amount of cash, Lehman said. The man was last seen heading toward railroad tracks behind the store and a police dog “picked up something” to track, Lehman said.

An employee at an AC&T store at 724 Frederick Street was struck in the leg with a wooden club during a robbery at the business Wednesday night, according to the Hagerstown Police Department. The robbery, which was reported at 9:40 p.m., occurred when two males entered the gas station, said HPD spokeswoman Lt. Rebecca Fetchu. They were wearing black clothing and were wearing masks, police said in a news release. One of the individuals was carrying a large stick and struck one of two employees in the leg, police said.

Police dogs face unavoidable, life-threatening situations every day. But, many K-9s die needlessly from heat stroke after being left unattended in a patrol car. Greencastle Police Department officer Keith Russell wants to ensure his canine partner, Rony, is not one of them. When it's only 80 degrees outside, the inside of a car can heat up to more than 120 degrees in just minutes, according to the American Kennel Club website. The PA K9 Assistance Foundation website adds that over the last five years, as many K9s have died in heat- related incidents as have been shot.

A police dog has found traces of accelerant in the debris of a Quincy Township, Pa., home destroyed by fire earlier this week. “He alerted in several sports for ignitable liquids,” said Jeff Sarver, a Pennsylvania State Police fire marshal. On Wednesday, Sarver said investigators packaged several samples to send to a crime lab for testing. Firefighters were called at about 1:22 a.m. Monday to a blaze at 9456 Masters Road in the Gap area. Initial reports indicated a person might be trapped inside the ranch-style house, but fire officials said that person was actually away from the property.

Butch, a German shepherd K-9 police dog and partner of Berkeley Springs Police Chief Craig Pearrell, was put down Saturday morning. The dog recently had a health problem, suffering a series of seizures, according to a news release issued by Pearrell. Butch became the town's K-9 officer in February 2007. He was purchased from Mike Mayes of Battle Ridge K-9 with funding from local citizens and businesses. During his five years of service, Butch was responsible for hundreds of drug busts, assisting with crowd control and assisting in the tracking of lost residents in the local area.

Hagerstown Police Department officers were continuing to search Monday night for a man they believed shot another male at the intersection of North Cannon Avenue and North Mulberry Street earlier in the day. The victim, believed to be in his 20s, was shot at least twice, one time in the torso, Capt. Mart Holtzman said. Holtzman said Monday night that the victim suffered “very serious” injuries. It couldn't be determined if the individual's injuries were life-threatening, he said.

A Mississippi truck driver who led police on a wild, drug-fueled chase through three states last year was acquitted of four counts of first-degree assault Tuesday, but faces sentencing on four second-degree assault convictions and a several other offenses. Washington County Circuit Court Judge M. Kenneth Long Jr. announced his verdict Tuesday morning, based on testimony and evidence heard during the Dec. 8 bench trial of Thomas L. McNeel, 43, of Pontotoc, Miss. Long also found McNeel guilty of fleeing and eluding police, reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident involving bodily injury and other charges stemming from the chase on Dec. 20, 2010, up Interstate 81 that began in Berkeley County, W.Va., and passed through Washington County before ending near Exit 5 in Franklin County, Pa. “I find that his intention was to frighten” the four police officers at whom McNeel was accused of aiming his tractor-trailer during the chase, Long said.

Three charged with drug possession after traffic stop FREDERICK, Md. — Two Berkeley Springs, W.Va., adults and a juvenile were charged with drug possession after a traffic stop Saturday on Interstate 70, Maryland State Police said. A 2005 Toyota Scion was stopped at 12:15 p.m. for a traffic violation, police said. A trooper requested a police dog to scan the vehicle and it detected narcotics, police said. The driver, Brian Vongostn, 20, address unavailable, was charged with possession of heroin and drug paraphernalia, police said.