Gurnee police dog earns his bones nabbing burglary suspect

Gurnee's police dog Shane showed over the weekend why he nabbed a bronze medal in a suburban K-9 Olympics last month.

Shane and his handler, Officer Philip Mazur, traveled more than a mile to link a wallet and other items to a car burglary suspect late Saturday, police Cmdr. Jay Patrick said. Shane, a German shepherd, has been with Gurnee police since June 2006.

Benjamin Alderin, 22, of the 3900 block of Dorchester Avenue, Gurnee, was charged with burglary and possession of stolen property. He's free on a $30,000 recognizance bond.

Police said the incident started about 11 p.m. at the HeatherRidge subdivision in the 600 block of Dunham Road.

A 24-year-old man reported the suspect standing near his vehicle and then running east, police said. After checking his unlocked vehicle, the man reported a GPS and Bluetooth hands-free device were missing.

Mazur and Shane were dispatched to HeatherRidge, authorities said. The pair tracked a scent at Gages Lake Road and to Route 21 north of I-94, where they found a wallet on the ground that belonged to the victim.

As the cop and canine continued to find other items while following the scent northeast, another officer noticed a man who matched the burglary suspect's description in the Woodlake Apartments parking lot, Patrick said. Woodlake is south of Washington Street and Route 21.

Two police officers interviewed Alderin and found him in possession of the GPS, Bluetooth and other items taken in the car burglary, police said. Shane and Mazur arrived in the lot after tracking the scent for more than a mile.

Competing against 15 suburban police dog teams, Shane finished third and captured the bronze medal at last month's K-9 Olympics at an Algonquin quarry pit. TOPS Canine Complex in Grayslake, where Shane trained, sponsored the event.

Handlers are tested on their ability to work with their canine partners at the grueling two-day competition that included obstacle courses. A drug search, bite work and handler protection were part of the action.

"It gets very competitive," Mazur wrote in a report on the event, "but also in the same token, everyone supports everyone else."