Tag: police dogs

By Caleb Hutton

Police found shattered glass and scattered cigarette cartons on the ground outside the Meridian Super Mart, 4130 Meridian Street, after responding to a glass breakage alarm at 12:48 a.m. Tuesday, June 12.

A police dog picked up a scent at the crime scene, leading officers to a Volkswagen van parked behind O’Reilly’s Auto Parts, about a block away, said Bellingham police spokesman Mark Young.

A man inside the van, John Aquinas Thomas, 52, refused to come out when the officers asked him to.

“At gunpoint,” Young said, “officers convinced the subject to come out.”

Thomas then refused to go to the ground, Young said. He was cited for obstructing law enforcement, but officers were unable to search his car without a warrant.

Thomas, whose van had Montana plates, was not booked into jail on burglary charges. The case remains under investigation.

An inventory check at the Super Mart later suggested nothing was stolen, said an employee who answered the phone Wednesday.
View Larger Map