KENNEWICK — A Richland man is charged with biting the neck of a Pasco police dog while trying to hide from officers following an attempted break-in.
Cesar Enrique Ochoa was inside an SUV on Octave Street when he allegedly attacked the dog, according to court records. It left K9 Hapo with a tender neck, and Ochoa facing additional charges in Franklin County Superior Court.
Ochoa is currently being held in Franklin County jail in lieu of $20,000 bail on charges of residential burglary, harming a police dog and vehicle prowling.
Police were first called about 9 p.m. March 5 when a man was screaming on the front lawn of a home on the 2700 block of West Henry Street, according to an affidavit by Pasco Officer Jacob Spitzer.
The woman living there told officers she was in her bedroom when she heard the yelling and saw him outside. She called her husband, who was at a movie theater.
She then saw Ochoa inside their detached garage, so she locked her door and slid a chair under the handle, according to court documents.
He then ran to a door and used a bottle of sparkling cider that was outside to smash the door’s window, according to court documents.
The woman grabbed a bat and Ochoa ran away.
Her husband called police on his way home. Security camera footage showed a man with facial hair, a tattoo on his neck and a short-sleeve shirt.
Pasco Officer Kierra Peoples and K9 Hapo arrived to track the suspect. They were checking some vehicles parked in a backyard when they found Ochoa inside a broken down Ford Explorer.
He matched the description of the break-in suspect, so three officers ordered Ochoa to get out. When he didn’t leave, the dog was sent in, said court documents.
Ochoa struggled with Hapo and the officers said they saw him bite the dog’s neck.
