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Wrong place, wrong time, good dogs

Two men take an ill-advised course of action near a police dog training site: They run.

By TAMARA EL-KHOURY
Published January 27, 2006

LARGO - It was supposed to be practice, but by the end of the night everyone had learned a lesson.

Sgt. Kelly Goswick, the Largo Police Department's canine supervisor, was holding a training session at about 1 a.m. Thursday in an industrial complex on Starkey Road behind a Knockers Restaurant.

Pretending to be the bad guy, Goswick ran off into hiding so the dogs could track him, according to shift commander Lt. Mike Loux.

That's when Goswick spotted two real-life potential bad guys lurking in the shadows.

It was a definite case of wrong place, wrong time.

Goswick came out of hiding. He turned his flashlight on the two men and identified himself.

"They give him a kind of deer-in-the-headlights look," Loux said.

Then they took off running, police said.

Justin Lee McFarland, 23, of Largo took about five steps before thinking twice about his flight.

"I stopped running because we weren't doing anything wrong," said McFarland, an employee at Little Caesar's.

But his buddy, George Martin Brooks, 21, of Largo, didn't think twice. In fact, he said he wasn't really thinking at all. Maybe it was the Bud Lite.

"I saw a flashlight, I didn't hear the police and I didn't know and (I was) tipsy so I ran," Brooks said. "I don't know, I honestly don't."

McFarland said Goswick told him to tell Brooks to stop running or he'd send the canines out.

"Hey, stop!" McFarland said.

Brooks kept running.

That's when practice ended.

As units set up a perimeter, police dog Bear tracked Brooks for a short period of time before turning it over to his teammate, Draco.

Draco was on Brooks' trail when he came to a fence. Draco stayed put in case Brooks hadn't jumped the fence and was hiding nearby.

"I was going fast," Brooks said. "I was hauling tush."

Draco passed the baton to Will. According to Loux, Will went over a couple of fences, through a couple of businesses, a recycling center and woods before stopping at Island in the Sun mobile home park.

That's where Will found Brooks in a carport.

"The dog found me and attacked the s--- out of me," Brooks said. "Can I say that?"

No.

"Attacked the crap out of me."

Try again.

Both men were arrested and charged with loitering and prowling. They were booked into the Pinellas County Jail and released after posting $250 bail.

The friends, who met four years ago at Harvest Temple Church, said they were waiting in the parking lot for less than 10 minutes to meet a friend.

"It took them 30 to 40 minutes to catch me with three dogs and nine cop cars so I guess I did a good job," Brooks said.

But if there's a next time, Brooks, who said he was bitten on his left knee, swears he won't run.

"Heck no," Brooks said. "No, no. This is not fun. My leg hurts."

Times researcher Angie Drobnic Holan contributed to this report.

[Last modified January 27, 2006, 01:21:16]