K-9 cop collars robber on East Side

YOUNGSTOWN — A Campbell man used a sledgehammer to break into an East Side store, hid inside a cooler to avoid capture and kicked the police dog that found him, police say.

The suspect, Bennie Lewis Jr., 50, of Palmer Avenue was arraigned today in municipal court on charges of breaking and entering, assault on a police dog, possession of criminal tools, criminal damaging and resisting arrest. Judge Robert A. Douglas Jr. set bond at $13,000 and preliminary and pre-trial hearings for May 12.

First officers on the scene discovered the break-in at the Oak Street Market, 1804 Oak St., around 2:15 a.m. Sunday. A 911 caller had reported seeing a man with a sledgehammer crawl through a hole he made in a wall.

More officers were sent to the store, including Patrolman Josh Kelly and his dog, Helo.

Kelly shouted through the hole in the wall that the dog would be sent in if the person inside didn’t make himself known.

After the warning was given three times, the dog was sent in and ordered to bark while Kelly again told whomever was inside to give up. The dog then searched the building and sat down by a small meat cooler and barked, indicating he’d found someone.

When the suspect, later identified at Lewis, refused to come out, Kelly opened the cooler door and the dog stuck his head inside, only to have it kicked by Lewis, reports show.

“The dog apprehended the suspect by biting and holding the suspect’s right lower leg,” Kelly wrote in his report.

For the complete story, see Tuesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.