Catch of the Quarter 2016 (2nd)

ROBERT SCHMITT

K-9 BOSS

VANDERBURGH COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

At approximately 1052hrs on 06/08/16 dispatch advised that the Posey County Sheriff`s Office was seeking K9 assistance on Posey County Line Rd., south of Baseline Rd. I was relayed information that a bank robbery suspect had entered the Community State Bank at 4800 Saint Wendel Cynthiana Rd. He fled the bank in a vehicle and eventually crashed on Posey County Line Rd. I arrived at 1055hrs and was briefed by Deputies that the suspect was seen fleeing on foot into the woods by the bank manager, and it was unknown if he was armed. Deputies advised that the same suspect had stated he was armed to bank tellers at a previous robbery at the Cynthiana branch of Community State Bank. A perimeter had been put in place by Posey, Vanderburgh, and State Police officers. Due to the nature of the crime, possibly being armed, and the thick wooded terrain, I deployed my certified K9 partner, Boss. I placed a tracking harness and 15 foot lead on him and commanded him to track the suspect. I yelled a loud K9 warning, "Sheriff K9, come out now or you will be bit the dog" in the presence of PCSO Deputy Sgt. Porath. I did not receive an answer. K9 Boss placed his nose on the ground and began to track north into and through the woods. The woods was thick and Boss pulled to a small stream. After approximately 50 yards Boss stopped and stuck his head high in the air. This behavior indicated to me that the suspect was close to our location. I yelled another warning "give up now or you will be bit by the dog", with no answer. Boss pulled me through the stream, up and over several downed trees, and up the bank around 200 yards. He then lunged into several fallen trees over the stream and I heard a male voice yelling. I could not see the suspect prior to Boss` engagement. I could not see the suspect`s hands and ordered him to crawl out of the fallen trees with hands shown. The suspect complied and Boss was released. I then ordered the suspect to stay still or the dog would be re-engaged. I asked for Sgt. Porath to come through the woods to place the suspect into custody. Once he was in custody he was led out of the woods by Sgt. Porath. It was later learned that a bank teller had recognized the suspect as the same person who had robbed her at the Cynthiana branch during the earlier robbery. During a backtrack, we found a white piece of paper laying on ground near where the suspect was apprehended. This was photographed and collected by PSCO detectives. This was found to be a note intended for the St. Wendel bank. It stated "This is a robbery, please remain calm, I need the money in the register, I don`t want to shoot anyone or take hostages" The suspect, Patrick Sandmann, was transported to Deaconess for injuries sustained from the apprehension. Posey County advised he would be charged with attempted robbery for the incident today, and armed robbery for the previous incident.