By Roxana Navarro
25 Jul 2024, 01:20 AM EDT
A Hispanic man wanted by authorities in Texas for a fatal shooting in Dallas County was arrested with the help of the Department of Public Safety (DPS) K9 team. K9 Officer Bona tracked for several miles until she found the place where the suspect was hiding.
The Texas Department of Public Safety said in a statement that it arrested a man wanted for murder after a chase that stretched for miles in rural Frio County earlier this month, identified as Naudy Hernandez Perez, 25.
Bona and her trainer Rabun
DPS said that at around 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 11, police canine officer Bona and his handler, Uvalde Trooper Landon Rabun, received information from a Medina County Sheriff’s deputy who was involved in a vehicle chase on I-35.
During the chase, they discovered the driver was Naudy Perez, who eventually stopped on the interstate in Frio County, got out of the vehicle and fled on foot to try to hide in the brush.
In collaboration with the Medina County Sheriff’s Office, multiple law enforcement agencies established a security perimeter in the area and provided protection to the DPS K9 team.
The K9 officer tracked the suspect’s scent
Officers used human scent from Perez’s abandoned vehicle. K9 Bona and Trooper Rabun tracked Perez through brush for more than two miles. After nearly three hours, they found Perez attempting to hide under a tree.
The suspect was arrested without incident and taken to the Medina County Jail. Naudy Perez faces charges of murder and evading arrest.
Bona has 2 years in DPS
K9 Officer Bona is a 3-year-old Belgian Malinois and joined the DPS in 2022. As part of the Texas Highway Patrol, DPS K9s like Bona play a critical role in apprehending criminals and detecting narcotics and explosives in communities across Texas.
Bona is one of more than 70 commissioned K9 officers stationed across the state.
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