EASTHAMPTON — The Easthampton Police Department credited its new K-9 unit with nabbing three people in a breaking-and-entering case early Tuesday morning.
According to Officer Chad Alexander, a newspaper delivery person called police at 2:15 a.m. Tuesday after noticing the F.L. Roberts gas station was ransacked with its glass door smashed.
Gino, a 17-month-old Belgian Malinois, tracked down the accused thieves with his handler Officer Andrew Beaulieu. Gino tracked the scent at the scene about a half-mile away to Dragon Circle, according to police.
There, officers arrested:
Angeluis Green, 22, of Paterson, New Jersey, on charges of felony nighttime breaking and entering, larceny over $250, malicious destruction of property, possessing burglarized tools and furnishing a false name;
Nancy Gonzalez, 27, of Florence, on charges of felony nighttime breaking and entering and larceny over $250, and;
Anthony Ortiz, 24, of Holyoke, on charges of felony nighttime breaking and entering, possessing burglarized tools, malicious destruction of property and larceny over $250.
Officers also tracked down the suspects. Alexander said two were in a getaway car and one was making his way back.
Officers found “several” cartons of Newport cigarettes and a “substantial” amount of cash, according to the Easthampton Police Department. Police also used surveillance footage to identify the suspects, they said.
Gino joined the department in March after it received a $25,000 Stanton Foundation K-9 Unit Acquisition grant, which covers initial expenses and costs for three years.
At the time, Police Chief Robert Alberti said the breed is known for its keen sense of smell and that Gino would be used to track missing persons and crime suspects.
“We’re really excited about this,” he said in March.
The three suspects were scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Northampton District Court.
Jack Suntrup can be reached at jsuntrup@gazettenet.com.
This article has been updated with more details from the Easthampton Police Department.