A fugitive who caused the death of a police dog during a chase in North Carolina over the summer was arrested Thursday in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Tafari Asanti Henderson-Samuels, 25, was taken into custody without incident around 11:30 a.m. After an initial court appearance in Massachusetts, he will be returned to North Carolina to face charges related to a robbery in Greensboro back in August.
According to Massachusetts State Police, Henderson-Samuels was wanted for violently robbing a man at gunpoint. He was out on parole for firearms violations at the time of the robbery.
On the night of Aug. 16, Greensboro police said they located Henderson-Samuels and attempted to arrest him, but he fled on foot. Officers, including the Greensboro K9 officer and his partner Rambo, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois, gave chase.
During the pursuit, Rambo was struck by a motor vehicle in traffic. The dog was rushed to an emergency veterinarian but died of his injuries.
Henderson-Samuels escaped capture, and Greensboro police learned that he had fled to Springfield, Massachusetts. Massachusetts State Police began working with North Carolina officers and developed an area of interest in Springfield's Indian Orchard neighborhood.
While conducting surveillance in the neighborhood, a state police trooper saw a man matching Henderson-Samuels' description enter a 2009 Subaru Outback with Massachusetts plates on Thursday. Police followed the vehicle and positively identified the front seat passenger as Henderson-Samuels. They stopped the car on Leyfred Terrace and took him into custody.
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He was found with 33 packets of heroin. He was taken to the Springfield Police Department and booked as a fugitive from justice on the North Carolina warrant and on a drug possession charge.
