Police dog, alert officer help nab burglary suspects in Gresham

greshmugs.jpgView full sizeTrino Lopez Sr. (left) and James Patrick Brennan III

A burglary suspect who had holed up inside a deli in Gresham surrendered to police only after hearing a Portland police dog barking outside.

The canine was called to the scene for precisely that reason.

"He wasn't coming out," said Sgt. Claudio Grandjean, spokesman for

. "The safe thing to do is to get a dog. ... Its bark is intimidating."

Apparently, James Patrick Brennan III,  31, was worried about getting bitten. He immediately walked out of the Deli Barn at

and surrendered to police, who had already taken a suspected accomplice into custody.

The alleged robbery was uncovered at 2:56 a.m. Wednesday by Gresham Officer Mark Hawley, who was on patrol. He noticed a car parked out in front of the deli, which was closed. He remembered the store had been robbed in January and that the surveillance tape had shown a car parked in the same spot at the time of that break-in.

Hawley pulled out a pair of binoculars to get a good look from a safe distance, and saw that the glass door had been smashed in. He parked east of the store and crept up on foot, discovering a suspect in the car. He could hear crashing sounds inside the Deli Barn.

Hawley ordered the man inside the vehicle, Trino Lopez Sr.,  39, to surrender.

He did.

Hawley and other officers called to the scene ordered Brennan to come out.

He refused.

That's when the Portland K-9 was called to the scene to try to bark the suspect into giving up.

It's a commonly used tactic to keep police from having to use their weapons or risk being hurt themselves, Grandjean said.

It worked.

Lopez was booked into Multnomah County jail on suspicion of burglary one and possession of methamphetamine. Brennan faces allegations of burglary one, criminal mischief two and possession of burglary tools.

Police are still investigating the previous robbery, checking for a link.

"It was really good police work," Grandjean said.

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