New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
Strong work by Massachusetts State Police K9 Unit Trooper Benjamin Siok and his partner Zigo, recent graduates of the unit’s patrol school, who made their first find Tuesday afternoon, tracking down a suspect who fled from a vehicle stop in Templeton.
Shortly after noon on Route 101 north, Trooper Timothy Desmarais stopped a 2018 Toyota RAV4 occupied by a passenger, SHANE HICKEY, 33, of Gardner, whom the Trooper knew to be the subject of several outstanding warrants. The suspect ran away from the vehicle in the direction of Gardner. Troopers set up a perimeter with assistance from Templeton and Gardner Police.
Trooper Siok responded and Zigo began tracking into the woods, before coming to Sawyer Street. About 1,000 feet the down the street, Zigo showed strong interest in a fresh footprint in the snow. Trooper Siok and Zigo continued to follow the track to the north until they came to a large sand pit.
Zigo punched through thick brush bordering the pit and showed a proximity alert and began searching frantically. He tracked up a hill onto a ridge and went more than 400 feet deeper into the woods and showed another proximity alert. He pulled through the woods to another ridge where he found a man, confirmed to be the suspect HICKEY, lying in some leaves.
Massachusetts State Police photo.
Trooper Christian Wolferseder, who was tracking alongside Trooper Siok and Zigo, placed HICKEY into custody and transported him to the State Police-Athol Barracks. HICKEY was booked on three outstanding warrants as well as unlawful possession of Class A and Class B narcotics.
