(WSVN) - The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man accused of stealing a vehicle and assaulting a K-9 unit.
Deputies spotted the stolen vehicle in the parking lot of a Walmart on State Road 64th East, shortly after 4 p.m., Friday.
When the suspect, 36-year-old Christopher John Darlington, saw the deputies, he rammed a MCSO patrol vehicle with the stolen car and then headed west on State Road 64.
The suspect was then spotted by the MCSO Watch Unit by air in the 3600 block of US 301 when the vehicle ran off the road and crashed into a fence. Darlington then climbed out of the vehicle and broke into an unoccupied house in the 3600 block of 27th Street East.
A perimeter was established around the residence by deputies, as they gave Darlington multiple commands to surrender.
Darlington refused to surrender, and deputies, along with a K-9 unit named Loki, found him armed with two large knives in the master bedroom at the home.
When Loki approached him, Darlington swung a knife at the K-9, which cut his nose and face.
Darlington was quickly apprehended and the 7-year-old K-9 was taken to an area veterinary hospital for treatment.
Deputies said, during Darlington’s arrest, they discovered he was trafficking suspected fentanyl. They also found he had stolen property from the residence he hid at.
Darlington had two outstanding warrants for contempt of court, prior to this arrest. He is now being charged with a list of crimes.
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