K-9 Deputy AJ and K-9 Lt. Joey Cone
CULLMAN – A Cullman County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) K-9 deputy today tracked down a suspect who was attempting to flee on foot. The suspect, Elijah Blake McDonald, 22, of West Point ran when deputies were attempting to serve him with arrest warrants. K-9 Deputy AJ, along with his handler, K-9 Lt. Joey Cone, pursued him for 4 miles.
McDonald, who had warrants for third-degree domestic violence and possession of drug paraphernalia, fled into the wooded area behind Temple Baptist Church off of Alabama Highway 157 West.
"At approximately 9:41 this morning, our investigators were following up on some information regarding a suspect," said Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry. "Mr. McDonald had warrants for his arrest, at which time the investigators and Cullman Narcotics Enforcement Team pulled up, Mr. McDonald fled on foot. Deputies and investigators set up a perimeter and called in Lt. Joey Cone, our K-9 instructor who is also over the K-9 tracking program. After checking locations, Lt. Cone and K-9 AJ started the track, and for the next almost two-and-a-half hours, the K-9 tracked McDonald. McDonald then exited the woods on County Road 1141 with the K-9 and Lt. Cone directly behind him. After a short foot pursuit, McDonald was apprehended by investigators and transported to the Cullman County Detention Center on the warrants, with possible other charges pending resulting from a current investigation."
Resulting for today's incident, McDonald now has an additional charge of fleeing and eluding.
"I want to commend the hard work of the investigators, deputies and CNET for their relentless pursuit this morning of this suspect," said Gentry. "We want to give extra acknowledgment to Lt. Cone and K-9 AJ for the track, which was approximately 4 miles in length."
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