A suspected burglar got trapped in a chimney while trying to rescue his dog after it got locked in the bathroom of a building.
Carlos Owens, 35, became lodged in the chimney of a building in Rockwell Park in Bristol, Connecticut, and was caught when police officers responded to a burglary complaint.
Firefighters removed parts from the chimney of Mrs Rockwell’s Pavilion, as well as from the building, in order to free Owens. The operation racked up $5,000 to $10,000 in damages to the building, according to the Bristol Police Department.
Owens was not injured during the ordeal, nor was his pup.
It was not immediately clear how the pet got trapped in the restroom.
But Erica Benoit, who is community engagement coordinator for Bristol Parks, Recreation, Youth and Community Services, said that the bathrooms were equipped with new timers that lock automatically at 10pm nightly.
The dog must have walked in before then.
‘It is a bit of a crazy scenario,’ said Benoit.
‘Our parks staff is working with the police department and the fire department to make sure that doesn’t happen again.’
Owens, of Bristol, appeared to smirk in his mugshot. He has been charged with third-degree burglary, first-degree criminal trespass and first-degree criminal mischief.
He has been released on a $50,000 bond and is scheduled to appear at New Britain Superior Court on July 7.
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‘If he had just contacted police in the first place, we might have been able to avoid the situation,’ Benoit said.
Bristol is about 20 miles southwest of Hartford, which is the state’s capital.
The weird incident happened a year-and-a-half after a man got stuck in the chimney of a home in Fall River, Massachusetts, while trying to escape police. Officer caught on to the fugitive after a dog walker reported hearing someone scream and go down the chimney.
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