A police K-9 was killed and two suspects are in custody following a pursuit across Phoenix on Tuesday.
Phoenix Police Sgt. Jonathan Howard said an auto theft task force initially located the suspects around 11 a.m. Tuesday in a stolen vehicle near 51st Avenue and Broadway Road.
The driver, who has prior arrests and was wanted on a felony warrant, fled the attempted stop, prompting police to begin following the car with aerial units. He has been identified as 27-year-old Jairo Adair Contreras Quinter.
Quinter stole another car at gunpoint near 43rd Avenue and Bethany Home Road, then went to Biltmore Fashion Park, where he stole a third vehicle around noon inside the parking garage. During the entire pursuit, police say 24-year-old Laura Dagnino was also in the vehicles and involved in the robberies.
According to Sgt. Howard, police tried to intervene in the garage, and at least one officer fired shots toward Quinter. It's unclear if the Quinter returned fire, but Howard said no one was injured during the incident.
Air15 video showed the driver fleeing the shopping center in a white SUV, then traveling at high speeds and going the wrong way in traffic before driving on light rail tracks near Central Avenue and Thomas Road to avoid stoplights.
PHOTOS: SUV driver leads police on chase through Phoenix
Stop sticks were deployed near 27th Avenue and Bethany Home Road, which caused a tire to blow and prompted Quinter to drive into a nearby neighborhood. The SUV was seen going through multiple front yards and across sidewalks before Quinter and Dagnino stopped and tried to flee on foot.
"They just took me out of the house because they couldn't find the man. Just for the security of us they just took us out of there," said Jacqueline Gonzalez, who lives next door to where the suspect crashed. She was babysitting two kids at the house when officers came looking for the suspect and evacuated her and the kids for safety.
Dagnino was quickly taken into custody by officers. Police continued to search for Quinter, who was later found in a home nearby hiding in an attic. Police say Quinter had fallen through the attic and onto the floor below before a K-9 was released and the suspect was taken into custody.
According to court paperwork, as the dog was inside officers heard K-9 Bane breathing in an unusual and shallow manner. Bane’s handler reportedly gave commands for him to return but the dog did not exit the home.
After officers took the suspect into custody, he reportedly had injuries consistent with dog bites. Court paperwork indicates that officers found K-9 Bane inside a cabinet unresponsive.
The suspect reportedly had his body up against the door to the cabinet when police found him.
According to Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams, Quinter was hospitalized from injuries related to the crash and had not been shot.
Williams said police K-9 Bane was seriously injured at some point in the incident and did not survive. Police have not yet said what led to the dog's death.
Quinter has been booked for an outstanding warrant for theft of a motor vehicle, trespassing, armed robbery, weapons violations, killing a service animal, animal cruelty unlawful flight and burglary.
Dagnino was arrested and booked for an outstanding warrant for drug charges, armed robbery and theft of a motor vehicle.
Rest in peace, Bane. You will be missed. EOW 4/17/18 pic.twitter.com/gwr8WQ2tWH
— Sgt. Vince Lewis (@SgtVinceLewis) April 17, 2018
