Friday Aug 1
Dog sniffs out Atherton burglary suspect
Arrest end foot chase through backyards
By Will Oremus / Daily News Staff Writer
A foot chase through the landscaped yards of residential Atherton ended Thursday when a police dog tracked down a man suspected of burglarizing at least one nearby house.
Residents in the 300 block of Green Oaks Drive came home at about 2:15 p.m. Thursday to find an intruder just leaving their house, Atherton police Sgt. Mike Guerra said. They went after the man and called police while chasing him down their street.
Guerra and others joined the foot pursuit, chasing the man over a fence, then called for backup.
Menlo Park police helped set up a perimeter, and a canine unit from the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office hounded the suspect. In all, about 12 units from the three departments participated.
At about 3:20 p.m., a dog sniffed out a man in the corner of a yard about eight houses down from where he was first spotted.
"He was hunkered down there," Guerra said. "He gave up when the dog found him and started to bark."
The man was found with electronics and computer equipment, apparently stolen, Guerra said.
Police were still interviewing the suspect Thursday afternoon and did not immediately release his name.
Guerra said other houses in the area were also burglarized, and police are trying to figure out if they're connected.