A Leesburg K-9 officer is being praised for quickly catching a thief who ripped off a tip jar from a downtown restaurant.
Officer Gary Herrero was performing an extra watch patrol when he observed a disturbance near 3rd and Main streets. He turned on his overhead lights and as he approached the area, people were pointing to a man running toward Market Street, a report states.
Herrero gave chase and a short time later found the man hiding beneath a parked car. Herrero ordered the man to come out from underneath the vehicle and once he got on his feet, he attempted to run. Herrero then tased the man and the tip jar he had stolen from an eatery identified by many area residents as the God Café fell to the ground and shattered.
Herrero put the man in handcuffs and placed him under arrest. The owner of the restaurant suffered injuries when he fell to the street while trying to detain the thief and his condition wasn’t available on Tuesday.
Herrero was recently in the news when he and his dog, Banner, competed in the 2nd Annual Central Florida K9 Competition in Oviedo. Herrero and Banner took second place while fellow Leesburg Officer John Scheer and his dog, Boomer, came home fifth out of the 20 teams that participated.
