Police dog puts the bite on gang member

A gang member who tried to escape arrest on outstanding warrants was hospitalized overnight for treatment of bites from a police dog used to apprehend him when he refused to come out from hiding under a bed, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department said.

Members of the sheriff’s gang task force were chasing Rodrigo Cazares in northwest Santa Rosa on Thursday afternoon when he ran into his Navajo Street home around 3:30 p.m., sheriff’s Lt. Scott Dunn said.

Santa Rosa police officers formed a perimeter around the address while deputies awaited the arrival of a trained dog who helped search the house, Dunn said.

Cazares was found hiding in the box-like base of a bed under a mattress and box spring, he said.

Cazares, a parolee previously deported after serving time in prison, has a history of drug and weapons charges and is a known gang member, Dunn said.

He would not come out, so the dog was sent in.

Cazares was taken to a local hospital for treatment and held overnight for observation, Dunn said.

It was anticipated he would be booked into the Sonoma County Jail on the outstanding warrants Friday and held without bail on a parole violation and deportation hold, Dunn said.