A canine officer helped break up a car theft in Atlantic City on Sunday.
Police officers received a report that a vehicle was bashing into other cars on Denny Street near Iowa Avenue around 6:30 a.m. When officers arrived, they saw a gray Mitsubishi hitting other vehicles. The driver of the vehicle then exited the Mitsubishi and jumped into another vehicle, which then sped away up Iowa.
Officers chased, and followed the car as it turned the wrong way on Fairmount Avenue. The fleeing vehicle collided with another police car that was responding to the call, in the intersection of California and Fairmount Avenue. The responding vehicle was K-9 officer Frank Timek, responding with his canine partner.
After the crash, police said one man tried to flee on foot. Vader, the canine dog, leapt from the police car and was able to apprehend the suspect, Luis Martin Donato Lopez, 21. The driver of the vehicle, Clever Sanchez, 23, was arrested inside his car.
The pair were both charged with theft, burglary, and drunk driving. Police said the pair hit 7 parked cars in the botched theft.
