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Died – 11/24/16
Handler – Detective Richard Hernandez
Retired Evesham K-9 dies on Thanksgiving
A long-serving police K-9 died in retirement on Thanksgiving Day, the police department reported. Police said K9 Elias died of a sudden illness. The German Shepherd was credited with 100 arrests during his police career. No other details of his death were provided. Elias served more than eight years with the department from December 2008 until 2014 and continued to live with Hernandez afterward. He was 12 years old. “On behalf of the entire Evesham Police Department family, we would like to thank K9 Elias for his years of dedicated service to ETPS and to the residents we serve,” the department said. “He will be greatly missed by handler Detective Richard Hernandez, his family, and the men and women of the Evesham Police Department.” Among the dog’s more significant “collars” was a 2012 arrest in which he apprehended two suspects more than a mile from a gas station they had allegedly attempted to blow up. Authorities said the suspects had assaulted police officers before Elias subdued them. In a 2007 case, Elias prevented a suspect from re-entering a home where he had allegedly assaulted his ex-wife in front of their children, police said.
