Police Dog Sniffs Out Fugitive in Refrigerator

The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force tracked Calvin Williams, wanted on two felony gun violations to a motel room in West Hempfield Township where police dog Ronin followed the man’s scent directly to the refrigerator.

Police knocked on motel room door and heard a commotion inside they eventually had to knock down the door to get in the room after hearing the noises and the dog on full alert. Police and the US Marshal’s office found a woman and 2 young children in the room but they refused to say where Williams was or even if he was in fact still in the room.

Wanting to complete a full search of the room on the belief that Williams was in fact staying there the police escorted the woman and children outside while they allowed Ronin who works as a K-9 for the sheriff’s office to search for the man. Ronin was successful and let the authorities on the scene know that there was someone in the refrigerator. The dog’s handler tried to open the door and found it being held shut from the inside. They told Williams to come out or they would send the dog in after him but he still refused to come out. Authorities opened the door and the dog found his mark.

Williams struggled with Ronin and sustained injuries from the dog.

The woman in the hotel room is expected to be charged with obstruction of justice, hindering apprehension and endangering the welfare of children.

A bit about Ronin:
Ronin’s specialty is explosive detection. Ronin’s motivation for all the work he does is getting to play with his ball and playing with his handler.
He is also trained in

• Tracking Ronin tracks by either ground disturbance or by scent of the person being tracked. Also during a track if Ronin located an article he will alert by lying down without touching it.
• Building search Ronin can locate criminals who are hiding in buildings.
• Deputy protection Ronin will protect his handler and other deputies when they are in danger.
• Demonstrations Ronin and Cpl. Bolton also conduct demonstrations of Ronin’s skills and explain the K-9 unit skills and functions. They provide demonstrations to schools, clubs, and places of business.

Ronin the police dog is being given the credit for finding the fugitive in the refrigerator hiding from police.