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Fleeing Truck Thief Caught In Neighborhood With Help Of K9 Officer In Purchase: Police

After leading authorities on a chase that ended in a crash, a pickup truck thief wearing a bright yellow jumpsuit was caught in a Westchester neighborhood with the help of a K9 officer's nose, police said. 

Tracking canine Essex (pictured above) helped sniff out the suspect in a yard in Harrison in the area of Purchase Lane and Highland Road, police said.

Tracking canine Essex (pictured above) helped sniff out the suspect in a yard in Harrison in the area of Purchase Lane and Highland Road, police said.

Photo Credit: Google Maps/Westchester County Police

The incident began on Thursday, Sept. 14 around 6:15 p.m., when authorities were notified that a stolen Ford F350 pickup truck was traveling on the Hutchinson River Parkway in Harrison. 

According to Westchester County Police, an officer soon found the truck and tried pulling it over near the interchange with Interstate 287. However, the vehicle kept going and sped away. 

The officer then kept following the truck to Westchester Avenue and Purchase Street, where it crashed into cables supporting a utility pole. The driver, who was wearing a bright yellow jumpsuit, then got out of the truck and ran away while being chased by Harrison Police officers. At this point, the truck's passenger was taken into custody. 

As the suspect continued fleeing through residential yards in the area of Purchase Lane and Highland Road, Westchester County Police and Harrison Police established a perimeter and brought in tracking canine Essex. Using a seat cover from the driver's side of the stolen truck, Essex was able to pick up on the suspect's scent and began leading officers to him.

After around 10 minutes, Essex brought officers to some tall bushes in the backyard of a home, where officers soon saw a flash of yellow from the man's jumpsuit. 

The suspect, a 25-year-old Yonkers man whose name was not released, was then taken out of the bush and charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, failure to obey a police officer, and numerous traffic and vehicle law violations, police said. 

The truck's passenger was later released without charges. 

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