Massachusetts State Police and K9 “Kantor” arrest two after pursuing stolen car

“HIDING IN A TREE WILL FOOL THEM. YEAH, NOT SO MUCH.

At about 2:40 yesterday afternoon, Massachusetts State Police K9 Trooper Brian Soares was monitoring his cruiser’s radio when he heard that Trooper John Pina from the State Police-Dartmouth Barracks was pursuing a stolen car on Route 24 northbound near Fall River. The stolen vehicle, a 2006 Audi A6 taken out of Roxbury, got off the highway at Exit 9 and entered onto Route 79 in Freetown. The car eventually stopped and two male suspects bailed out of the car on a dead-end off South Main Street known as The Lane. The suspects ran into the woods.

Trooper Soares and his partner Kantor (pictured), along with other MSP Troop D and K9 units and Freetown Police patrols and a local K9 unit converged on the scene, set up a perimeter, and began a search operation.

Trooper Pina and Freetown officers chased one suspect on foot and last saw him near a cemetery along the Assonet River. Trooper Soares deployed Kantor from the cemetery and, along with Trooper Pina, began a search in the woods. After searching along the river and in woods along Route 24 for an hour, the Troopers saw one of the suspects running through the woods toward the river. They pursued but lost sight of him in the thick brush, but continued to search the area.

At that point, Kantor started displaying tracking behavior, pulled up a steep embankment along the river, and found the suspect trying to hide in a tree, about eight feet off the ground. Trooper Soares gave the suspect commands to surrender or face apprehension by Kantor. The suspect complied and was taken into custody without further incident. The suspect, a 16-year-old boy from Mattapan, was charged with stolen motor vehicle and other offenses and was booked at State Police-Dartmouth. Freetown Police captured the other suspect.”