Judge praises police dog Zac for tracking car thief
- Published
Zac was on his first operation job with handler PC Sonia Norman
A police dog has been praised by a judge for helping to catch a car thief by following his scent from the crime scene to his Denbighshire home.
Mark Howie, 26, from Rhuallt, admitted aggravated vehicle taking and received a suspended sentence at Flintshire magistrates' court in Mold.
District Judge Andrew Shaw said the crime was detected because of the "fantastic resource of a police dog".
The dog tracked Howie between St Asaph and neighbouring Rhuallt.
After the hearing it emerged that Zac was on his first operational job with handler PC Sonia Norman after an intensive 16-week training programme with North Wales Police.
The court heard that Howie spotted the Peugeot, which had the keys in the ignition, outside a house in Caerwys, Flintshire, and used it to return to his girlfriend in Rhuallt.
PC Norman and Zac were called to the scene of the vehicle which was set on fire last May.
Zac led the officer to Howie's home, barking when he saw him at a window.
The court heard Howie fled through the back door but was found a short time later lying in a ditch.
The judge said: "It's once again a classic illustration of the enormous value an animal can give in the detection of crime."
Set on fire
Howie admitted aggravated vehicle taking and received a 16-week prison sentence, suspended for two years.
He was placed on supervision, ordered to pay £2,500 compensation and he was banned from driving for 18 months.
District Judge Shaw said that Howie may have taken the vehicle on impulse but he had time to reconsider before setting it on fire, presumably to try and hide his involvement.
"That was a serious and deliberate step which aggravates the offence," he said.
But the main reason he would suspend the sentence was so that the victim could be compensated because potentially he would be unable to claim off his insurance because the vehicle was not locked.
After the hearing, Sgt Paul Joyce said: "This is an exceptional performance from a newly trained dog and it goes to show the quality of training that both the dog and handler had undergone".