At approximately 4:30 pm this evening, Deputies with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to 5285 Bayou Drive in Milton in reference to a battery. One of the responding Deputies was an SRSO K-9 Unit.
Upon arrival, the suspect refused to comply with the K-9 Deputy. After several attempts to take the suspect into custody and due to the nature of the charges, the Deputy deployed his K-9. The K-9 exited from the vehicle utilizing an auto-door feature. As the K-9 exited, a vehicle driving close by struck the K-9. While this was occurring, the suspect took off on foot, leading other Deputies on a foot chase.
The K-9 was taken to a local area veterinarian for examination. K-9 Orkon was cleared with a minor rash type injury and was in good spirits when he left the vet. He will be on light duty for a few days and is expected to fully recover. The incident involving the K-9 is being investigated but is believed to be accidental.
The suspect was identified as Eric Mayhugh (8/22/77). After capture, he was taken to the Santa Rosa County Jail. As of this release, he is still in the process of being booked into SRC jail.
