AndrewBlakeEla Township, IL – The sheriff’s office broke through a wall into a home, and set a police K9 loose to take a suspect into custody on Thursday.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said Warrant Team members found out that Matthew T. Heidbrick, 27, was at his residence on March 8, and went there to arrest him with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service — Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force the Lake County News-Sun reported.
Heidbrick was wanted on a $100,000 bail warrant for failing to appear in court to face charges of possession of a controlled substance, Lake County Sheriff’s Sergeant Christopher Covelli wrote in a statement.
Sgt. Covelli said deputies “located Heidbrick hiding in an upstairs attic. Heidbrick refused numerous requests to surrender and exit the attic. Heidbrick instead retreated further into the attic and barricaded himself.”
After the suspect refused numerous commands to surrender, deputies broke a hole through the wall to get to him, according to the Lake County News-Sun.
Even after deputies breached the wall, Heidbrick refused to surrender.
“Sheriff’s Canine Dax was deployed and assisted in the apprehension effort,” Sgt. Covelli said.
Heidbrick was subdued and arrested. He was taken to a hospital to be treated for a dog bite, and then returned to the deputies’ custody, police said.
The suspect was charged with striking a police animal, resisting a peace officer, and obstructing a police officer, in addition to the warrant charges.
K9 Dax is a German Shepard who joined the sheriff’s office in January of 2015. He was named by local middle school students in a contest.
This wasn’t the first time K9 Dax made in the news.
In May of 2016, K9 Dax, and his partner Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy John Forlenza, responded to a call for a man who attacked a police officer and fled.
The suspect was a sexual predator with multiple felony arrest warrants, according to The Daily Herald.
The fur missile tracked the fleeing suspect and quickly located him. As soon K9 Dax started barking aggressively, the suspect surrendered to authorities.
The Illinois House of Representatives 99th General Assembly recognized the efforts of Deputy Forlenza and K9 Dax with a letter of recognition for their efforts in December of 2016.
