Man caught entering Manchester Inn by K-9s training fined $100

A Middletown man pleaded guilty to criminal trespass and was fined $100 and court costs for breaking and entering a closed downtown hotel.

Nicholas Tsakeris, 18, also was told Friday morning to stay away from the Manchester Inn, which closed seven years ago, by Middletown Municipal Court Judge James Sherron.

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Tsakeris and a 17-year-old boy allegedly entered the Manchester Inn on Wednesday afternoon. They were seen entering the hotel by Middletown’s police chief and two new city council members who were having lunch Wednesday on the fourth floor of the City Building.

Chief Rodney Muterspaw, who was meeting with council members Joe Mulligan and Ami Vitori, called police dispatch to report the suspicious activity at the hotel.

As the two suspects, Tsakeris and a juvenile, were illegally trying to enter the Manchester Inn, the police department’s K-9 team was training along with eight agencies of the Southwest Regional K-9 Training Team at the city’s K-9 training center near the Middletown Regional Airport.

“Bad timing,” Muterspaw said with a laugh. “Real bad.”

Middletown’s K-9 officers Bear, Chase and Koda, along with dogs from the other police agencies, entered the building, said officer Ryan Morgan, Chase’s handler. Morgan said there were 11 dogs stationed in and around the Manchester Inn.

“Dogs were barking everywhere,” Morgan said.

While Morgan and Chase were on the second floor, Chase, a 4-year-old German shepherd, indicated he smelled human scent, Morgan said. When they found the subjects hiding in a hotel room, Chase “showed force” and the subjects quickly surrendered, he said.

The incident showed there is “no better training than real-life scenarios,” Morgan said.

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