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Police Dogs Follow Scent of Pizza, Catch Armed Robbers Mid-Bite

When you hear that a police dog followed the scent of pizza to find three teens who were suspects in a late-night armed robbery, your first thought would probably be, 'Man, these episodes of Scooby Doo are getting dark.' But no, that seems to be what...
Photo via Flickr user ccho

When you hear that a police dog followed the scent of pizza to find three teens who were suspects in a late-night armed robbery, your first thought would probably be, Man, these episodes of Scooby Doo are getting dark. But no, that seems to be what happened last Thursday night in Olympia, Washington.

According to The Olympian, Tristan Goldsby, 18, Caleb Winegarner, 19, and an unnamed 16-year-old accomplice allegedly placed an order with a local pizza restaurant, asking for five pies and a side of hot wings to be delivered to a fake address on the southwest side of the city. When the female delivery driver arrived with the food, the teens allegedly jumped out of the bushes, flashed a gun, and "ordered her to drop the pizza." The three then grabbed the pizza box and fled; the driver was not injured.

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https://twitter.com/OlyPD/status/814948300835037185

Officer Bill Smith of the Olympia Police Department was dispatched to the scene, where his K-9 partner, Kaiser, picked up the scent of hot pizza. The dog then literally followed his nose until he found the suspects, who were still wiping grease from their fingers. One of the teens was caught mid-bite, and he was pretty quick to point out that his co-robbers were circling the block while they ate.

"After a brief sniff of the victim's delivery car, [Kaiser] and his partner followed the food scent to find one suspect hiding in the bushes with a half-eaten slice of pizza in his mouth," the Olympia PD wrote. "As they were taking that suspect into custody, a van drove by. The suspect spit out his pizza, pointed officers to the passing van, and told them the other suspects were inside."

READ MORE: How Cops Use Pizza Crusts and Half-Eaten Burgers to Solve Murder Mysteries

The suspects claim that the weapon they flashed was actually just an Airsoft gun, although the weapon has not been found. Goldsby and Winegarner were arrested and are being held on $100,000 bail. Their 16-year-old male accomplice was also arrested and sent to a juvenile detention facility on $90,000 bail. All three are facing charges of first-degree armed robbery. According to court documents, the three said they committed the crime because they were "bored and hungry."

The Olympia Police Department later posted a tweet with a picture of The Godfather's Peter Clemenza, riffing on the character's most famous line. "Toss the gun," the department wrote. "Take the pizza."