Canine Leads To Del. Man Arrest For Beating, Running Over Girlfriend
By Mike Dougherty
NEW CASTLE, Del. (CBS) - Police in New Castle County, Delaware have arrested a man they say beat his girlfriend then ran her over during a domestic dispute early Sunday morning.
According to police, 24-year-old Donald Smith got into an argument with a 27-year-old woman inside his car in Tuxedo Park. New Castle police corporal Jacob Andrews says Smith then physically assaulted the victim:
"The victim advised that he was punching her and banging her head against the window as they were driving around, apparently this went on for a couple of hours," he said.
At one point, the victim got out of the car and while she was laying on the ground, Andrews says Smith ran over a portion of her body. He then fled the scene after crashing into a tree.
A police dog named Chaos won this round of hide and go seek. "Did what they call an air scent, a sniff, around the vehicle to pick up a scent and tracked the suspect who was hiding fairly closely to the vehicle," Andrew said.
Smith is being held on $11,000 secured bail and faces a long list of charges including strangulation, vehicular assault and DUI.
The victim was treated at a hospital and released.