VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Three people suspected of breaking into cars were taken into custody in Virginia Beach early Tuesday morning. One of the suspects was bitten by a police K-9 while he was being apprehended.
Virginia Beach Police say officers were canvassing an area around 2:15 a.m. after residents reported a suspicious vehicle driving slowly through neighborhoods.
Another call from a homeowner in the 4900 block of Lookout Road reported several people entering his vehicle that was parked in his driveway.
Due to their presence in area, officers quickly arrived on scene and spotted three suspects jumping into their SUV and attempting to flee. During their attempt, they crashed into a marked police vehicle before speeding away.
"Three car door slams, that I heard at the same time, and then five minutes later an SUV police car, chasing a vehicle, came right down this tiny little street, I mean that's crazy" said Clay Culbreth, who lives in the Chicks Beach section of Lookout Road.
Police set up road spikes and were able to successfully spike the SUV's tires. The SUV came to rest in the 4200 block of Lookout Road.
All three suspects jumped out of the vehicle and tried to run away.
A police K-9 quickly apprehended one of the suspects.
"I watched the police cars, the police dogs come out here and I'm telling you it was a very very scary thing," says Melody Hartranft, who lives right where police set up road spikes.
The suspect was transported to a local hospital for evaluation and treatment of an injury related to the dog bite.
The other two suspects were caught a short time later.
Police say several firearms were recovered from the vehicle. No Virginia Beach Police officers were injured during the incident.
According to Chesapeake Police, the car was stolen from a home on Cornet Street in the Taylorwood Estates neighborhood.
The car owners were called shortly after 3:00 a.m. and had no idea that their car was stolen, so it's unclear when it happened.
Police say there were also five reports of suspects entering cars overnight in the Taylorwood Estates neighborhood. In four of the reports, items were stolen from the cars.
Chesapeake Police say they can not confirm that the arrested teens were responsible for those thefts as well, but they are investigating the possibility.
