VENTURA : Police Dog Captures Robbery Suspect
A man accused of robbing a west Ventura Thrifty pharmacy of drugs at knifepoint was arrested after being chased down and bitten by a Ventura police dog, officials said.
Ventura Police Detective Sgt. Bob Anderson said a man entered the Thrifty Drugstore in the 100 block of West Main Street shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday.
He reportedly displayed a knife and demanded drugs from the pharmacist, then fled the store with an unknown amount of morphine, Percodan and Percocet in a small sack.
Ventura police officers who were in the area with the dog chased the man.
Joseph Andre Hoffmann, 44, of Ventura was taken into custody after being bitten by the dog, Anderson said.
Hoffmann, on parole for burglary, was arrested on suspicion of armed robbery, Anderson said.
He was treated for dog bites and underwent observation for severe drug intoxication at Ventura County Medical Center, police said.
The drugs were recovered.
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