Fayette police dog dies during chase

By Kristi E. Swartz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A brief pursuit in Fayette County led to the arrest of four men in connection with a rash of burglaries.

But the Fayette County Sheriff's Department's first full-service K-9 dog died during the chase, which ended in some heavy woods in the northern part of the county.

Deputies arrested the four men in connection with at least six burglaries that happened in north Fayette County between July 26 and Aug. 3.

Somoah Martin, 20, of Rex; and Brandon Hightower, 17; Tony McKinstry, 17; and Rodriguez McKinstry, 20, all from College Park, are being held in the Fayette County Jail on burglary charges.

Deputies spotted the men in a red car as they were patrolling the area of Lafayette and Bordeaux Drive – an area that had been hit hard by burglaries in the recent weeks.

Deputies said two of the men got out of the car and started walking on Lafayette Drive.

One deputy followed the car and tried to pull it over on Bordeaux Drive. The driver kept going but then lost control of the car. The two men who were in the car got out and started running toward the two other men who had been in the car, deputies said.

Deputies arrested the men in a heavily wooded area in north Fayette County.

It was during that pursuit that Aaros, a 5-year-old Belgian Tervuren, died, deputies said.

Aaros and his handler, Deputy Sheriff Cody Benslay, were in the woods when the dog lost consciousness, deputies said. Aaros had not shown any signs of distress before then, deputies said.

Aaros died while being transported to the Fayette Veterinarian Medical Center, deputies said.

Aaros was Fayette County’s first full-service law enforcement canine, deputies said.