By Sarah Roebuck
Police1
FREDERICKSON, Wash. — Deputies with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office arrested two armed robbery suspects thanks to the help of K-9 Eddie, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
The sheriff’s office said the initial information given to deputies by the 911 caller was that a suspect had stolen the caller’s water truck. The brother of the truck’s owner called 911 to tell law enforcement that the suspect shot at him and he fired back.
When deputies arrived at the scene, they found the truck unoccupied in the middle of the road. Deputies were then told the suspects fled from the truck. Due to the potential that the suspects were armed, the deputies called for assistance from K-9 Eddie and his handler.
Witnesses told deputies they saw the suspect jump several fences. As deputies and K-9 Eddie walked around the area, K-9 Eddie tracked down two suspects who thought they could hide in an old pickup truck.
After the suspects were taken into custody, deputies discovered the stolen truck had an air tag inside of it which allowed the owner’s brother to track the vehicle. As the brother was tracking the vehicle, he saw it made a U-turn in a driveway and that’s when he decided to confront the suspects.
The suspect who was driving the truck hit parked cars and came toward the brother who then fired shots at the vehicle. The brother thought he heard them fire a gun, but deputies did not find evidence that either suspect had a firearm.
“Thankfully everyone was okay, but we would encourage you not to track your stolen vehicle and instead call for deputies to recover it or contact any suspects,” the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “In the end, K9 Eddie and our deputies did a fantastic job locating these suspects so they could be held responsible for their actions.”