Manchester police dog takes a bite out of crime, nabs fugitive

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O'Rourke
O\’Rourke

MANCHESTER, NH – A man wanted in connection with a March 4 home invasion was cornered March 9 by U.S. Marshals and captured with a big assist from a Manchester police dog.

Joseph O’Rourke, 35, of Manchester was charged with burglary, robbery, first-degree assault, second-degree assault and felon in possession of a dangerous weapon.

According to a Manchester Police narrative of the original incident, police responded to the 300-block of Harvard Street on March 4, 2015, for a burglary during which two masked men, including a man identified later by police as O’Rourke, allegedly assaulted the 33-year-old resident, using a weapon to cause multiple lacerations.

A follow-up investigation resulted in detectives issuing an arrest warrant for O’Rourke.

The U.S. Marshal’s Service along with members of Manchester Police Department Patrol Division, Community Policing Division and Special Enforcement Division, gathered intelligence over the weekend and located O’Rourke at a Beech Hill Ave address at 1 p.m. on March 9.

Law enforcement officers on scene located O’Rourke inside the residence, but he refused to exit the home. He attempted to evade police by jumping out of a second-story window but his freedom was short lived – Officer Jake Tyler’s police dog partner, Bud, apprehended O’Rourke almost immediately.

O’Rourke sustained minor injuries as a result of the dog bite. His bail has yet to be set, so he will most likely appear in the 9th Circuit Court-Manchester on March 10


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About this Author

Carol Robidoux

PublisherManchester Ink Link

Longtime NH journalist and publisher of ManchesterInkLink.com. Loves R&B, German beer, and the Queen City!