Merced police dog helps capture robbery suspect

Merced police on Tuesday credited their canine, Rex, with helping arrest a teenager accused of shooting a man during a failed robbery.

Detectives said the victim, a man in his early 20s whose identity was withheld, was shot around 11:45 p.m. Saturday in the 900 block of Loughborough Drive in Merced. Police said the victim’s wounds were not life-threatening.

Detective Joe Deliman, the lead investigator, said the man was approached by two people who demanded property. “He wouldn’t cooperate with them and the suspect shot the victim in the lower part of his body,” Deliman said.

Officers quickly arrested Dominic Bell Jr., 22, of Modesto. The second suspect, a 17-year-old male who police believe pulled the trigger, ran to the Sierra Meadows senior apartment complex in the 700 block of West 15th Street, officers said in a news release.

Police used Rex to track the suspect. The police dog needed less than five minutes to find the suspect, who was hiding in the bushes of the apartment complex with a loaded firearm, officers said.

The juvenile was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, robbery and conspiracy. He was booked into Iris Garrett Juvenile Justice Facility.

Bell was booked into the Merced County Jail on suspicion of robbery and conspiracy. He was no longer in custody Tuesday.

Police said the teen was the third suspect in the past month that Rex had helped arrest.

This story was originally published January 19, 2016 at 4:57 PM with the headline "Merced police dog helps capture robbery suspect."