ROGERS PARK — Good dog!
Man's best friend got the job done in Rogers Park this month when an armed robber tried to mug a man walking his dog, only to have the dog attack, bite and chase him off, police said.
Meet Smokey, a 1½-year-old Pit Bull/Cane Corso Mastiff Mix belonging to Raul Espinoza, 20.
At 9 p.m. on Feb. 13, Espinoza was walking the dog in the 1700 block of West Estes Avenue when a man with a teardrop tattoo under his left eye confronted them, according to Espinoza.
"I'd just turned onto Paulina and this guy was behind me; then he got in front of me and turned around with a knife," Espinoza said.
Flashing the five-inch blade, the robber identified himself as a “Five P-Stone” gang member and ordered Espinoza to empty his pockets, saying, “Run dem chains and run dem pockets,” Espinoza said.
Reporter Mark Schipper chats about the decision making skills of the criminal mind.
By then, Smokey had gone rigid, his hackles bristling, at the sight of the armed man, Espinoza said. The robber began threatening to hurt the dog if it moved any closer, but Espinoza let the man know that backing away would be a good idea.
"I told him the only reason my dog hasn't got you is because he's wearing a choke collar," Espinoza said.
But the robber stepped in anyway and Espinoza loosened his grip on the leash, allowing the dog to jump full force into the man's chest.
"Smokey got up on his two back legs and and bit him. I could see at first his jacket was being pulled, but then his neck got big and hard and I knew he'd got the right grip," Espinoza said.
The robber began howling in pain while attempting to shake off the dog. He eventually was knocked down, Espinoza said, and got up, throwing some half-hearted punches and swings with the knife as he abandoned the attack and ran away.
The robber, who attempted to claim he was not trying to rob Espinoza as he rose up to run, sprinted north along Paulina Street and crossed Touhy Avenue, continuing north until he escaped the area, Espinoza said.
The robber was wearing a red North Face winter jacket, now shredded and worse for wear at the chest logo, and black jeans with black shoes, Espinoza said. He also wore a type of ski mask during the attack, but the opening was so wide that Espinoza could see the tear drop tattoo and a second face tattoo below it that he could not identify.
Neither the dog or Espinoza were hurt during the attack. The extent of the robber's injuries is not known.
As for Smokey, he was treated to chicken breasts back home, Espinoza said, hardly aware of the heroic act he had performed protecting his owner.
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