With the help of police dog Roo, Gainesville Police arrested a local man Tuesday after police said he and his brother broke into a house.
Police are still searching for the brother but said the pair used a dresser drawer to hit a woman during the burglary.
Officers arrested 24-year-old Anthony Lamar Douglas II on charges of burglary and theft, according to an arrest report.
At about 12:45 p.m., Douglas and his brother broke into a house on the 3700 block of Northwest 20th Place through an unlocked bathroom window, according to the report.
A woman inside the house hid in her bedroom closet and called 911.
According to the report, when Douglas and his brother entered, they found her and hit her with a dresser drawer.
When officers arrived with a police dog named Roo, they saw the brothers leave through the front door and then run back inside.
Officers released Roo and stopped Douglas.
Douglas’ brother, who hasn’t been identified by police, ran out the back door of the house.
The men stole items from the house including jewelry, a MacBook laptop and a wallet, according to the report.
Officers found a bag containing the items on the path Douglas’ brother took to escape.
During questioning, Douglas said the robbery was his brother’s idea.
Douglas also had an active warrant out for escaping jail, according to the report.
Officers booked Douglas into the Alachua County Jail at 7 p.m., where he remained as of press time in lieu of a $135,000 bond.
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 3/13/2014 under the headline “Police dog Roo helps catch burglar who hit woman with a drawer"]
