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Dog tracks fugitive to underwater hiding place

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TBO.com staff

Published: September 6, 2009

Updated: 09/06/2009 05:11 pm

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Donald Lavello

TAMPA - With the help of a department tracking dog, deputies Saturday arrested a man wanted on an armed robbery charge who tried to elude pursuit by hiding underwater in a stand of mangroves.

Acting on a tip, deputies went to the Dana Shores area to hunt for Donald Lavello who is suspected of robbing a convenience store in August but Lavello bolted from a tree-trimming crew he was working with at the first sight of patrol cars, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said.

Deputy Chris Grecco and Bullit, a 2-year-old Belgian malinois, followed Lavello's scent but the trail ended at a seawall, the sheriff's office said.

Peering through thick mangrove branches, Grecco spotted Lavello coming to the surface for a breath, the sheriff's office said.

Lavello, 33 with no local address, was arrested under a warrant charging him with robbery with a firearm as well a charge of obstructing an officer.

The sheriff's office said he is suspected of entering a 7-Eleven store on Memorial Highway early Aug. 8 and pointing a pistol at the clerk before robbing him.

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