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Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009

Fleeing parolee bitten by police dog

30-year-old man receives minor injuries.

A 30-year-old parolee was bitten by a police dog Saturday, after investigators say an officer spotted him driving a stolen car.

Suspect Adrian Lenton was taken into custody around 11 a.m. at an apartment complex in the 3200 block of Denver Avenue, according to Lt. Andre Matthews, spokesman for the Merced Police Department.

The incident happened after Officer Jeremy Saylers spotted the suspect driving a 2000 Dodge Neon and checked the license plate.

The officer learned the car had been stolen from Atwater that day, Matthews said.

After seeing the officer, Lenton stopped the car and ran into an apartment complex on Denver Avenue.

Other officers arrived and established a perimeter around the complex, Matthews said.

Officer Vince Sapien and his police dog tracked Lenton to a vacant residence, where the suspect had entered after breaking a window.

Officers searched the apartment and found Lenton hiding in a bathroom. The suspect was bitten in the hand by the dog and received a minor wound, Matthews said.

Lenton was treated at Mercy Medical Center Merced and later booked into the Merced County Jail on suspicion of possessing stolen property and violation of parole. He's being held without bail.

Reporter Victor A. Patton can be reached at (209) 385-2431 or vpatton@mercedsun-star.com.