Police dog nabs man suspected of breaking in

YOUNGSTOWN — Gijs ran through the kitchen to stop the man trying to get out a living room window and knocked him to the floor.

“Alright, he got me,” Charles Merchant yelled to Detective Sgt. Frank Rutherford, Gijs’ handler. Rutherford told Merchant to not move or kick his legs while Gijs (pronounced Hise) was being “extracted.” The police dog was then lifted off Merchant and leashed inside the house at 541 W. Ravenwood Ave. on Thursday.

As Merchant fell, he dropped a screwdriver and a vice grip and another screwdriver fell out of his pants, police said.

The 48-year-old West Warren Avenue man was charged with breaking and entering, possession of criminal tools, falsification and obstruction of official business.

Neighbors had reported seeing someone acting suspicious and working on the door handle of the house that is for sale. Police called the realty company to come repair the damage done to the house.

Read more in Saturday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com