If you tell the cops to 'release the dog,' they just might

Botetourt County deputies said they had their hands full on Wednesday when a man stole and crashed three cars in an early morning rampage before leading officers on a 2-mile foot chase.

Sheriff Ronnie Sprinkle said 25-year-old Michael C. Stewart was arrested and now faces multiple charges in connection with the frenzy that involved three residents, three stolen and crashed cars, five Botetourt County deputies, a K-9 unit and two Virginia State Police troopers.

So far, Stewart has been charged with robbery, three counts of breaking and entering, grand larceny and resisting arrest, though Sprinkle said additional charges are pending.

“When the subject was located, he refused to comply with any commands and challenged the officers to ‘release the dog,’" Sprinkle recounted. "After he was subdued, he was transported immediately to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital for treatment of multiple dog bites and then returned to the Botetourt County-Craig County Jail in Fincastle, where he is being held without bond.”

Sprinkle said the crime spree began at 1:45 a.m., when officials learned a car had rolled at the intersection of Brugh's Mill Road and Lugar Lane. Investigation of that crash revealed that the car had been stolen from a garage at a nearby home.

Shortly thereafter, residents in the 100 block of Lugar Lane reported that a van had been stolen after a man rang their door bell, forced his way into the home and demanded the keys to the vehicle.

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Police said that one of the residents had a gun in the home and fired 13 shots at the van while Stewart drove it across a field until it hit and sheared a utility pole. Police said Stewart then fled on foot to another block of Lugar Lane, where he struck again.

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In the 300 block, another report of a man forcing entry came in. Sprinkle said Stewart had taken a pickup truck and backed it into a field, where it became stuck. Stewart then fled on foot once more, police said.

After the third theft, Botetourt County officers tracked footprints in the snow until the trail led across a melted area. Police then called in the county's K-9 unit to track the man to the edge of Interstate 81 near milepost 157, where he was huddled at the base of a bluff.

Police said he was taken into custody at 3:14 a.m.