Massachusetts State Police K9 Team capture suspect who fled into swamp after crashing into house

Just after 5 a.m. today, Massachusetts State Police K9 Section Trooper Kyle Kilmonis heard over the radio that West Brookfield Police had attempted to stop a white BMW, whose driver failed to stop, fled, and then crashed on Church Street, West Brookfield. The suspect vehicle struck a telephone pole, crashed into a house, and then into a tree before finally becoming disabled. The male driver fled on foot into adjacent woods.

Trooper Kilmonis, along with MSP K9 Trooper John Doherty and patrols from State Police-Brookfield, responded to set up a perimeter and assist in the search.

Trooper Kilmonis deployed his K9 partner Boomah, who quickly acquired a scent and began a track to the rear of the house that had been struck by the car. Boomah and Trooper Kilmonis tracked behind two houses and then to the front of a third, before entering thick woods by the Bradish Brook swamp. Boomah was tracking right over the suspect’s footprints in grassy areas of the dense, deep swamp.

Boomah showed interest in numerous areas of the swamp, then tracked back out of the swamp to Wickaboag Valley Road. A short time later, Troopers observed the suspect on that street directly ahead of the tracking K9 team. Trooper Mark Giromini from State Police-Brookfield apprehended the suspect without further incident.

The suspect, a 19-year-old Dudley man, was covered in mud and had received multiple cuts from running through the dense woods. He was transported to Mary Lane Hospital for evaluation. West Brookfield Police took custody of the prisoner and will determine charges.