Wanted man captured with help of Jennings County police dog

Jennings County deputies arrested a wanted man over the weekend, with the assistance of police dog Axel.

According to reports from the Jennings County sheriff’s department, officers went to a Spencer Township home on Saturday to locate Dana L. Lewis Jr., of North Vernon. He was wanted on a Jennings County warrant for failing to appear in court on a charge of possession of methamphetamine and a Jackson County warrant for escaping home detention.

Residents told the deputies that Lewis was inside. Sgt. Cody Low ordered Lewis to surrender peacefully five times before letting Axel search for the fugitive. The dog found him hiding in a closet in the rear of the home and deputies and the dog removed him from the closet and took him into custody.

He was taken to St. Vincent Jennings Hospital for treatment of superficial wounds before being taken to jail on the warrants and on a new charge of resisting law enforcement.