K-9 tracks man charged with choking ex-girlfriend after breaking into her home

Left: Dax, a Lake County sheriff's office K-9, and Lonnie James Henderson | Lake County sheriff's office

A police dog helped catch a man who allegedly broke his ex-girlfriend’s home and choked her early Thursday in north suburban Warren Township.

Lonnie J. Henderson, 39, is accused of forcing entry to the home in the 18700 block of West Ash Drive in Warren Township, according to a statement from the Lake County sheriff’s office spokesman Sgt. Christopher Covelli. He then choked and battered the woman, who is in her 20s, before she was able to leave the home and call 911. She was treated by paramedics.

Deputies arrived at the home and found that Henderson had run away, Covelli said. A K-9 named Dax was able to track Henderson’s scent for more than half a mile and authorities found him “hiding in a marshy area near a business.”

Henderson, who has no permanent address, was arrested and charged with felony counts of aggravated domestic battery and domestic battery, according to Covelli. He was also charged with misdemeanor counts of criminal damage to property, criminal trespass to property and disorderly conduct.

He was being held at the Lake County Jail pending a bail hearing, the sheriff’s office said.