FT. CARSON, Colo. – A Colorado man who authorities said took off during a traffic stop is behind bars and a family’s goat is getting the credit for the arrest.
Officials said 22-year-old Joseph Hargett, who was wanted on animal abuse charges, led them on a wild chase, eventually abandoning his vehicle.
What started as a car chase led to an all-day manhunt that had a neighborhood on edge.
The Brownings were about to leave the house when something caught their eye.
John Browning said, “One more time, I’ll just quickly check all the doors and windows and make sure they’re locked and I just happened to glance down this way and I said, ‘Kathy, Dwight’s looking at someone.'”
Dwight is the family’s observant 6-year-old goat.
Just seconds later, Hargett came walking out of the brush behind their house.
“He walked down past there and went over to the neighbors,” Dwight’s owner Kathy Zupancic said.
John, Kathy, and their son, Nick, kept an eye on Hargett, while they called 911 and their neighbor.
Neighbor Gary Keller said, “Kathy had called us up and said, ‘Hey there’s somebody that’s walking over toward your house that doesn’t look like they belong here.'”
Keller was able to convince Hargett to come out and surrender to sheriff’s deputies who were on their way.
But it’s likely none of them would have noticed the fugitive in their back yards if it weren’t for Dwight.
“He’s a hero, he deserves the key to the city,” Browning said.
As for Dwight the goat, he is pretty humble about the whole thing.
Hargett now faces a number of new charges, including reckless driving and drug possession.
According to jail records, he is an active duty soldier at Fort Carson, Colorado.
