RANDOLPH, Maine — A man on probation who held sheriff’s deputies at bay for more than four hours Wednesday and stabbed a police dog because he didn’t want to go back to jail wound up there anyway, police said Thursday.
Dustin Smith, 22, of Randolph, who was on probation stemming from a two-year aggravated assault sentence he recently completed, is facing a laundry list of charges, according to Kennebec County Sheriff Randall Liberty.
The trouble started around 6:30 p.m. when Cpl. C.J. Neagle of the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office received a call of a reported theft of prescription medications in nearby West Gardiner, Liberty said, and the suspect — Smith — was hiding at the Windsor Heights Apartment Complex in Randolph.
In addition to his probation, Smith also had a warrant for failing to appear on an operating after suspension charge, according to Liberty.
Neagle found Smith in the parking lot of the apartment complex, but the suspect fled with the officer and his K-9, Draco, in hot pursuit. Found crouching behind a set of steps, Smith pulled a knife and threatened officers, Liberty said.
Smith then fled despite being held at gunpoint by officers, who were hesitant to use such force in a residential area, Liberty said. Smith managed to get into the building and barricaded himself inside an apartment after stabbing the police dog to the base of his left ear, Liberty said.
State Police tactical officers were called to the scene, and even though Smith released a woman and young child from the residence he was hiding in, he refused to cooperate, Liberty said, and a search warrant was approved at 10:15 p.m.
Liberty said Smith kept police at bay “because he wouldn’t go back to jail,” but at 10:50, Smith finally surrendered. Liberty did not indicate whether Smith had any drugs on him when taken into custody.
Draco, who underwent surgery at the Emergency Medical Clinic in Lewiston for emergency surgery, is expected to fully recover despite receiving numerous stitches and staples.
Smith was booked into the Kennebec County Jail on charges of unlawful interference with a law enforcement dog with a dangerous weapon, criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, terrorizing, creating a police standoff, assault and refusing to submit to arrest.
Smith, who is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday, is being held on a probation hold.
I…….., never mind
Stealing drugs is bad, but stabbing a dog?
I hope you get a life sentence, kid.
For stabbing a dog? I mean, stabbing a dog isn’t nice and he is clearly trash, but…
The cops should have shot and killed him once he stabbed the dog. It’s the same as stabbing any police officer so I don’t get why they didn’t take this trash out of commision. Now we have to see if the judge he gets has any cahoonas to put this guy away for 20 + years. Considering past judges decisions on sentences I bet he is out after 2 years.
It said they were hesitant to use such force in a residential area.
Right. So had he not been near anyone else, they’d have felt quite comfortable lighting him up. Yeah, he did have a knife and attacked the dog (I dont care what anyone says, a dog’s life is not equal to a humans, regardless of it has a badge) but, I’d assume that one guy with a knife isn’t going to do much harm to a whole gang of police officers. I just cant believe that killing him would have been the only and/or the best option. Not defending this character, he clearly needs his brain to be re-arranged a bit, by force, if necessary.
“Yeah, we didn’t shoot him, but only because there was a chance someone else might get hurt” is a pretty callous and apathetic statement for a bunch of people who are suppose to have societies best interest in mind. Peace cannot be achieved through bloodshed. It worries me that (as a whole) the people who are suppose to be pillars of righteousness and leaders in our communities have a hard time grasping basic philosophical concepts. You don’t build strong societies by killing people, for any reason. Period.
Case in point, Norway.
The dog’s life is definitely worth more then this Dustin Smith character.
the cops don’t want anybody to see them at their best until they get to the station and then put a beating on them so nobody could see, like what they did to my innocent son who was found not guilty. cowards….send in the dog
From the mug shot it looks like he didn’t wait very long to gobble down the pills he stole. Or maybe that’s his “normal” look. Either way, looks like Mr. Smith is going back to jail for a while. Why no kidnapping charges for holding the woman and kid hostage during the stand-off?
Because he didn’t hold them hostage, it says he sent them out.
Says he “released” them. Ya can’t release anything unless you are first holding it. One second or one year…doesn’t matter how long he had them under his control.
Glad to hear the Dog will make a full recovery
Get well soon Draco! Hope the coward who did this to you enjoys his cage.
Should lock him in a cage with Draco. Let Draco serve up his own style of justice!
I hope he has a long stay in the jail to think about his actions. Not that thinking is necessarily his strong suit.
I hope Draco bit him, although the dog might have gotten a disease from this pos.
All of that to avoid the charge of stealing prescriptions. If only he’d have known that they wouldn’t charge him anyway. Wonder if he has a sense of irony?