Local News in Brief : Police Dogs Sniff Out 2 Robbery Suspects

Police dogs tracked down one robbery suspect hiding in the engine cavity of an abandoned car and another crouched in a yard just before midnight Thursday--about an hour after officers chased them from the scene of a robbery at a South Gate fast-food restaurant.

The two officers happened to drive by the Jack-in-the-Box restaurant at 3504 Firestone Blvd. when they noticed two men vault a railing in the restaurant, rush outside and drive away. After a three-minute chase into a residential neighborhood, the suspects abandoned their stolen car and lost themselves among houses, parked cars and trees--until police cordoned off the area and let their trained dogs track them down.

“It was a good hiding place,” Detective Bob Todd said of the suspect’s plan to hide inside the empty engine cavity. “But you can’t fool the dogs.”

Police arrested Leroy Washington, 21, and Trymaine Everly, 26, both of Los Angeles, on suspicion of robbery and grand theft auto.

Todd said that Washington and Everly used a toy gun in the alleged robbery and that police shot at the men thinking the gun was real. The bullets missed their mark, but both suspects were treated for dog bites.