[narrator] In Florida, a chase...
[Deputy Michael Stringer] My car's bouncing, sliding, and I'm just doing
everything I can to stay with the vehicle.
[dispatcher speaking on radio]
[Stringer speaking]
[narrator] ...leads to a manhunt at night.
[officer speaking]
[Pilot Clayton Starling] I was surprised that I was not
picking him up anywhere.
It's the warm part of the year, so rattlesnakes are coming out.
Water moccasins are out. So you don't know what you're gonna encounter.
[narrator] And in Michigan, multiple home invasions.
[woman] The door? Yeah.
I looked and I saw a person standing in front of me.
[Gardocki speaking]
[Stathakis speaking]
[Deputy Chief Archie Hamilton] There was nothing
that would stop us...
[Groat speaking]
[Hamilton] ...putting an end to this terror.
[indistinct radio chatter]
[officer] Sherriff's office Come outside!
[narrator] The Ocala Nationa Forest covers nearly half a million acres.
Patrolling it is up to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.
Deputy Michael Stringer is on the evening shift.
[Stringer] It's a dense forest area. There is some houses.
But if there's people out and about,
and they're on the side of the road,
we gotta make sure their vehicle's not having issues
and to make sure they're not lost on a trail
We do get the occasional call for a bear or an alligator,
but we're there to protect the animal more than anything else.
Generally, there's not too many cars in the late evenin
As I'm driving, I see a blu colored Dodge Durango
on the left-hand side of the road
and it appears to possibly be broken down.
I'm gonna go back and check this driver. And as I'm comi back up towards the vehicle
he just takes off.
Generally, if someone speeds away from you,
you got something to hide.
And the vehicle, he's just going.
[siren blaring]
[Stringer speaking]
[dispatcher speaking on radio]
[Stringer] The speed limit on Southeast 183rd Avenue Ro is 30 miles per hour.
We were going 60, and they were... he was still creating a little bit of distance.
Doing everything he can to g away, there's no other vehicles on the road.
[siren wailing]
[Stringer speaking]
[dispatcher speaking]
[indistinct radio chatter]
And I'm just doing everything I can to stay with the vehicle.
[Stringer] As I'm getting closer to the vehicle, he makes a dramatic brake.
And he makes a turn.
This time, into the woods.
[Stringer speaking]
My car is bouncing. Sliding
There's sugar sand, my vehicle's struggling to get through.
We go 200, 300 foot,
and he makes a left-hand turn
and crashes into a small tre
I see the subject jump out o the vehicle and begin runnin eastbound into the woods.
So I jump out and I take off after the subject.
[indistinct radio chatter]
[Stringer speaking]
[indistinct radio chatter]
[Stringer] This gentleman, he knew his way around these woods specifically.
He knew where he was going. He had a destination in mind,
and that's where he was going to.
[Stringer speaking]
[dispatcher speaking]
[Stringer speaking]
[dispatcher speaking]
[Stringer speaking]
We're about a quarter mile into the woods at this point.
I don't know what he has in his possession, whether it b a weapon, gun, knife.
There's just a lot of unknowns,
and that's a situation you don't wanna put yourself in,
especially when you ain't got anyone there to help you.
[dispatcher speaking]
[Stringer speaking]
[dispatcher speaking]
[Stringer speaking]
[dispatcher speaking]
[siren blaring]
[Lee] Bolo is a German shepherd that's from Holland.
He is two and a half years old.
I've had him for four months
At this point,
we are certified and on the road
and that's about all the training that we have together,
but I do have confidence in him in handling this task
When I arrive to the scene, the driver already fled on foot.
He was the only person in the car.
So we don't have to worry about anybody else.
Bolo understands that he is to locate an odor
and then follow it until he gets to the end of the source.
Bolo was immediately able to locate the scent,
and then it was time to go to work.
[beeping]
There was two other deputie that were able to assist me
Deputy French and Deputy Bak were along with me just to watch my back
while I'm watching the dog work.
It being a rural area it does make things a little bit easier,
in terms of the contamination.
You don't have as many people walking around,
but you do have animals. Animals can be a contaminating factor.
Bolo's lead is 30 feet long
It gives Bolo the sense of working freedom.
To where I'm not restrictin him to go wherever he wants
and that helps the dog feel like they're working independently.
Working independently is very important.
[narrator] As night falls, the helicopter unit is called in.
[officer speaking on radio]
[Starling] One of the things that we usually do is
make sure that there's nobody coming back
towards their area
or they are not hiding waiti to ambush a deputy or office
[indistinct radio chatter]
[Starling] Due to the fact that this was in a rural forestry area,
I knew that there was nowhere for him to go to hide
such as going into a house.
I was surprised that I was n picking him up anywhere.
[Lee] Being in the Ocala National Forest when it's fully dark,
you can't see up to about 5 feet in front of you, if that.
There's danger lurking around any corner and at every step.
It's the warm part of the year.
So rattlesnakes are coming out, water moccasins are out.
You don't know what you're going to encounter.
[Lee] Bolo is out in front of me, 30 feet, give or take,
so I'm relying on his nose to help me get where we need to go.
[officer 1 speaking]
[officer 2 speaking]
[Starling] When I saw the vehicles that were drivi through our search area,
I notified our perimeter uni
to keep an eye on these vehicles,
just in case they were ther
to pick up the suspect that was fleeing from us.
[Starling speaking]
[Lee] When they get out and run, it's easy for them
to get to a place, to make a phone call
and then get picked up, because they know exactly where they're at.
[officer 1 speaking]
[officer 2 speaking]
[Starling] There were numerous ponds within our perimeter.
So I began searching the waters.
[officer 1 speaking]
[officer 2 speaking]
[Starling] In one particula area, it looked like some vegetation had been disturbe
which seemed like it would have been recent activity.
[Starling speaking]
[Starling] I did see a slight heat source.
The heat source was so smal that we could not either
identify or eliminate that possibility of it being a person.
[Starling speaking]
[officer speaking]
[Starling speaking]
[Lee] This hot spot could b not only the possibility of the person we're looking for
but an animal, such as an alligator laying there,
or a snake or anything at this point.
I don't know where the person is or how they're laying.
They could be laying down in a position where they can see us coming
and then start shooting at us.
[Starling speaking]
When we do send a K-9 team or a search team into a targ that we identified,
there is a sense of fear
that we may have sent them into a bad situation,
to where they could get hurt.
[Starling speaking]
Around the lake, all you can hear is frogs croaking.
Other than that, it's extremely quiet
other than the helicopter flying ahead.
This is a really good spot for someone to hide.
Sawgrass was really tall.
He's very camouflaged.
[Starling speaking]
[Lee] Bolo goes to my left and then...
He pauses.
[Starling speaking]
I can barely see his silhouette in the dark
and I see him pawing at the water at this point,
which slightly confused me.
[Lee speaking]
[suspect speaking]
[Lee speaking]
[both shouting]
[Corporal Lee speaking]
-[suspect speaking] -[bleep]
[Lee speaking]
-[suspect speaking] -[bleep]
[Lee speaking]
[suspect screaming]
[Lee] I turn my flashlight o and I see just
the eye and the nose of our suspect.
Once he raised his arm out of the water, Bolo engaged his arm.
I pulled Bolo back,
who's attached to the guy and attached to his lead and me,
and I'm pulling them both ba
to where the guy is being drug out of the water by Bolo, by me.
[Lee] Relax, I got you.
[suspect screaming]
-[suspect yells in pain] -[Lee] Grab that arm right there.
I'm giving the guy clear commands of what to do and how to do it
so we can take Bolo off as quickly as possible.
[officer speaking]
[suspect crying]
[Lee speaking]
We have our suspect now. We gotta get out of there.
[officer on radio]
[Starling speaking]
[Lee] Luckily, the helicopter's there to help us get out.
[Lee speaking]
[Deputy French speaking]
[Lee speaking]
[Lee] But, the guy himself knew the area so well
that he was even helping us walk out of there
and tell us where the roads were and where we could go.
[suspect speaking]
[Lee speaking]
[suspect] Man! [bleeps] [groaning in pain]
[bleep]
[Lee speaking]
[Stringer] When they get the suspect out of the woods
and they get to speaking with him,
he tells me his name is Kasper O'Berry.
I know this name, I know he has warrants.
And, at that point, it's obvious to why he was running.
He's a wanted man.
[narrator] Kasper O'Berry was found guilty of fleeing and eluding
and driving without a licens
He was sentenced to 180 day in county jail.
[Stringer] Kasper O'Berry told me
that the reason he hid in the lake is because he'd seen it in movies,
and then some of his friends told him that if he was to hide under the water,
the K-9s wouldn't be able to smell him.
[Lee] Hiding in water does the opposite effect,
it actually holds odor
and made it a lot easier for the dog to go straight to him.
[O'Berry] It hurts.
[O'Berry crying]
[Deputy French] Roll over.
[Stringer] Kasper O'Berry suffered minor puncture wounds from the K-9's teeth
And while we were at the hospital,
Kasper O'Berry told me that he would never run from a K-9 again.
[narrator] In Michigan, 10 miles southwest of Detroi
is the city of Wyandotte.
[Deputy Chief Archie Hamilton] This is my hometown.
It's the town that I love more than anything.
However, there's pros and cons to working in the community that you grew up in.
You know, the pros is you kn the geographical area,
you know the streets like the back of your hand.
You know the people, which is a huge benefit for law enforcement.
The cons is you also know the people.
Sometimes, you have to enforce the law
and you may know them, it may be your neighbor.
It may be somebody you went to high school with
[dispatcher 1 speaking]
[dispatcher 2 speaking]
The morning of August 1st,
we realized we had a major problem.
We had multiple home invasions,
an attempted stolen vehicle
a garage burglary
all in a small geographical area.
[dispatcher speaking]
That implies we have somebody that's associated with that neighborhood
who's out there committing very serious crimes,
who has no intention on stopping,
and we need to act quickly.
[officer speaking]
[male victim speaking]
[officer speaking]
[male victim speaking]
[officer speaking]
[male victim speaking]
[officer speaking]
You know, a lot of good people that I know personally,
that I went to high school with,
live in that geographical ar where these crimes were occurring.
There was nothing that would stop us from finding this individual
and putting an end to this tear.
We pinpointed the area and the timeframes
when these crimes were occurring.
And that's what we used as a map to place our officers in those areas.
And on August 2nd, that strategy paid off.
It was a, you know, Saturday night.
There were what, four of us in the house?
I fell asleep on the chair, which is not an unusual thing.
I woke up and I looked,
and I saw a person standing pretty much in front of me.
He walked towards the back of the house.
I walked to the back of the house, there's a laundry room,
and I didn't go outside because I was scared.
I mean, that's... There's just no denying that. I didn't...
I didn't step foot outside.
I shut all the doors
and then I sat there and convinced myself that I was crazy,
and I was wrong, and there was nobody in the house,
and it was a shadow.
And I laid there and waited for Andy to wake up.
[Officer Morgen Gardocki] I was in my first month of the field training progra
I was driving with my field training officer, Nick Stathakis,
just keeping our eyes peeled
looking for things out of the ordinary.
Looking for open doors, we're checking our alleys,
making sure nobody's hanging out,
making sure there's no odd cars there that we're not used to seein
[Officer Cade Barwig speaking on radio]
Officer Cade Barwig called out that he had a vehicle fleeing from him.
[Barwig speaking]
[Stathakis speaking]
[Stathakis] Due to the time and the specific area that the male is fleeing from,
this is probably our guy that just committed the home invasions.
It was all in a short period, kind of back-to-back-to-back.
It was more than likely our guy.
-[Gardocki speaking] -[Stathakis speaking]
[Gardocki speaking]
[Gardocki] This was the first time I've ever chased a vehicle.
I need to step it up, I need to go faster, I need to get there.
My adrenaline was pumping. Had lights and sirens runnin
Going crazy fast.
It was an entire culture shock.
[officer speaking on radio]
[Stathakis speaking]
[officer speaking on radio]
[Stathakis speaking]
He's brand-new. I mean, you're just hoping that the guy
knows how to drive a car, let alone,
you're not expecting him to get in a pursuit in that short of a period.
[Barwig speaking]
[Gardocki speaking]
[Stathakis speaking]
[officer speaking on radio]
[Stathakis speaking]
[officer on radio]
[Gardocki speaking]
[Stathakis speaking]
Because we're the second car in the chase...
[Stathakis speaking]
[Gardocki] We can't really see what's ahead of u
[Stathakis speaking]
Only the suspect can see what's ahead of them.
[Stathakis speaking]
[Officer Gardocki speaking]
[Stathakis speaking]
[sirens wailing]
[Gardocki shouting]
[Stathakis speaking]
[Gardocki] I managed to fall twice.
Tore my hand open.
[Stathakis speaking]
-[Gardocki shouting] -[bleep]
[Gardocki] He ran into thick brush
and at that point, I lost sight of him.
There's no sign of him on the street.
[sirens wailing]
[Gardocki speaking]
[dispatcher speaking on radio]
[Stathakis speaking]
[Barwig speaking]
[Gardocki speaking]
[Barwig speaking]
[Gardocki speaking]
[Barwig speaking]
[Gardocki speaking]
[Barwig speaking]
It immediately became pretty clear to all of us
that this isn't gonna be an easy track.
The weather on that night, there was quite a bit of rain.
As mentioned, all of us were doing our bes
to try to apprehend the guy,
but then it almost hindered the K-9 because when you sta mixing all the scents
and you get so many people tracking through an area,
it makes it harder for the d to track that subject.
All the way to that fence.
[Stathakis speaking]
[Stathakis] All right, so...
[Barwig speaking]
[Gardocki speaking]
[Stathakis speaking]
[Officer Stathakis speaking]
[Officer Alex Stathakis speaking]
[Stathakis speaking] My little brother, Alex, also works here.
We were on the same shift for probably upwards to three years.
So it's been a joy working with him.
We get along great.
As far as chemistry, communication, anything like that, spot-on.
[Alex Stathakis speaking]
[Gardocki speaking]
[Stathakis speaking]
-[Alex Stathakis] It's not bad. -[Stathakis]
Unfortunately, the K-9 search was unable to pick up a track.
We were unable to locate the offender.
We continued to check the immediate area,
but ultimately we were called off.
So you immediately have that sense of defeat.
You know, that might've been your only chance to get this guy.
-[Gardocki speaking] -[bleep]
[Gardocki speaking]
[Hamilton] Well, the suspec may have been able to get away that night.
But he left one valuable piece of evidence on the railroad tracks.
and that was that truck.
[Gardocki speaking]
[Barwig speaking]
[Officer Stathakis speaking]
[Deputy Chief Hamilton speaking]
[narrator] Officers run the plate and discover the truck was stolen
from the same area where the break-ins happened
[Barwig speaking]
-[officer 1 speaking] -[bleep]
[Gardocki speaking]
[officer 1 speaking]
[Hamilton] There were several items inside that truck
that link to a home invasion in our city
that just occurred a couple hours before the pursuit.
[officer 2 speaking]
[Gardocki speaking]
[Andy Witkowski] So I get u at around 7:00, 7:30 to let the two dogs out.
And when I get up, my wife says to me,
"Andy, I think someone was in the house."
I call the police.
[Andy speaking]
[officer speaking]
[Andy] All right.
[officer speaking]
[Andy speaking]
[officer speaking]
[officer] Yeah.
[officer speaking]
[Ann Marie Witkowski] The safe... I don't know ho in the world he got the saf
because it's very heavy.
But it was empty because my parents had recently moved,
and they gave me that safe.
And I didn't put anything in it
'cause I couldn't figure out how to do the combination yet.
[officer speaking]
[Andy speaking]
She had spent her own money, $250, which was a lot for her.
She lost her prom. She lost her graduation during the pandemic.
She didn't even have her driver's license,
so this electric scooter was almost like driving for her.
And I just, you know, I died, you know...
that I would have to tell her.
And when I did, she broke down in tears.
[Ann Marie] I don't think it's the stuff at all.
I think it was more of a violation,
like, felt very violated, scared.
[Hamilton] Crimes affect communities. We all know that.
But it's not the crimes itse that greatly impacts communities.
It's the fear of crime that has the bigger impact.
And the officers carry that as well.
They experience the same emotions as the citizens.
They want this person off the street.
[Officer Tyler Groat] So we got a call right towards the beginning of our shift,
from a business in a little industrial area of our city.
The call was that a male came into their business
through one of the employee doors
and said that he had fallen off a train.
And they said the male looke disheveled,
didn't have shoes, kinda ripped up clothing.
When the manager told him he was gonna call police,
the individual left the business.
So we went down towards the railroad tracks to try t locate this individual.
While we are out, we get another call
of a vehicle that had been broken into right next to the business.
The individual that now just jumped the fence into the scrap yard
and they said they'd never seen him come out.
[Groat speaking]
I stayed on the outside of the scrapyard in case he fled further south.
I was on the south end of the scrapyard.
Officer Groat and my brother Officer Alex Stathakis, entered the scrapyard
and began trying to locate this man inside the scrapyard.
There's a sense you know something's gonna happen.
You don't know what.
[Groat] We hear what appears to be a car engine start.
And there should be nobody in this scrapyard. It's closed.
[Alex Stathakis speaking]
[Groat speaking]
[suspect speaking]
[suspect yells] Ah!
-[Groat yelling] -[bleep]
[Officer Alex Stathakis speaking]
[Groat yelling]
[bleep]
[Alex Stathakis] Put them on your back there.
[suspect speaking]
-[Officer Groat speaking] -[bleep]
-[suspect speaking] -[bleep]
-[Groat speaking] -[bleep]
[suspect] All right. I don't wanna get shot.
-[Groat speaking] -[bleep]
It all unfolds very quickly.
But while you're in the moment, things kinda slow down
for you a little bit.
[Groat] As we run around the corner to the path,
we see a white dump truck starting to speed away from us.
Officer Stathakis was yelling at him,
to get out of the vehicle, turn off the vehicle.
Instead, we see the reverse lights come on.
And the vehicle starts to go in reverse back towards the front gate
where there was all the witnesses from the vehicle
that was broken into still standing.
I see Officer Stathakis is in line with the driver' side of the window,
which was rolled down on the truck.
He fires his taser, and gets a good connection through the window,
which then causes the individual to lose contr a little bit.
And he hits some sort of scrap metal that's just off the path.
[Groat] My instinct tells me I need to get over there
before he gets out of the vehicle and starts to run
through this yard on foot.
And as he comes towards the passenger door, the window's down,
and he jumps right out the window.
I see him start to throw a punch at me with his right arm.
I immediately deployed my taser.
He went to the ground.
And Officer Stathakis was right behind me followin
and instantly jumped on top of him to try to secure his hands.
-Hey, you guys. -[suspect speaking]
[officer speaking]
[suspect speaking]
[officer speaking]
When you deal with guys breaking into cars, sure, you might have a fight.
They might run.
But to go to the extent and the extreme to get away from just being arrested
for simple larceny from auto.
It didn't really make sense.
[suspect speaking]
[Stathakis] There's more here.
[suspect speaking]
[Stathakis] You looked at him, and, like,
man, this really could be the guy that's been breakin into all these houses.
[bleep]
[Stathakis] You start to see the similarities in combination
with his attitude and kinda the way he was trying
any and everything he could to get away from us
[bleep]
Stop! Let go, sir.
It kinda... It all just came together all at once.
You just kinda... This is him.
[suspect speaking]
[officer 1 speaking]
[bleep]
[officer 2 speaking]
[officer 2] Stop it. Stop!
[officer 3 speaking]
[suspect speaking indistinctly]
[officer 1 speaking]
Go on.
[officer on radio] Respondin All units standby.
[narrator] The suspect is 33-year-old Dwayne Boyer
He has suffered a deep cut to his arm.
Officers take him to the hospital for treatmen
If you grab me forcefully, I'm tell you this...
[Groat speaking]
[bleep]
[Groat speaking]
[bleep]
[Officer Groat speaking]
[bleep]
[Groat speaking]
[bleep]
[Groat] Here we go.
[bleep]
[Groat speaking]
When in the hospital, I initially sparked up the conversation
by letting him know that I thought he was the suspect
that I was chasing nights previous
in the car that ended on the railroad tracks.
He gave a little chuckle and laughed and said, "Oh, that was you?"
I said, "Yeah, that was me. That was my first one."
He's like, "I gotta away from you." He kept bragging about it.
And we began having a conversation about all the actions
that he's taken within the past week.
There was nothing held back
[Stathakis] Through all the statements the offender made
at the hospital, he more or less connected himself
to all the incidents for us
He openly stated, "I ran from you. I got away."
[Gardocki] He confessed to the crime of stealing a fire department vehicle
that we had not even connected him to.
The details and statements that he made in front of officers,
it took away that assuming it was him to this is him.
We know it's him.
He's telling us it's him.
[narrator] Boyer pleads guil to multiple counts
including home invasion, larceny, and fleeing.
He is sentenced to 7-and-a-half to 20 years in prison.
[Ann Marie] He didn't hurt any of us.
He didn't take anything worth a whole lot.
But it changed us as people.
It changed us as a family.
Our trust level would be a lot less.
August 7th, one of the police officers of the detectives
called my cell phone.
And he was, like, "Are you home? Are you there?
Can I come see you? I'm around the block."
And I was like, "Yeah, yeah, that's... Yep, yep, that's..."
And he was so excited.
[Grace screaming] Yeah!
-Whoa. -[Graces laughs]
And he knew it was hers because obviously it had her name on it.
He was pretty... I think he was excited as Grace was once that scooter was found