An unauthorized driver of a utility van containing large amounts of copper was arrested Wednesday thanks to a police tracking dog, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said.

A Spokane Valley deputy noticed a Power City Electric van pull into Sullivan Park at 2:15 a.m. and park next to another vehicle, a Sheriff’s Office news release said.

When the officer approached the van, the driver left the van and ran eastbound across Sullivan Road. Police dog Brax tracked the man, who was found almost a mile away hiding under a pile of brush in the Sullivan Business Park.

Deputies said James Mulvaney, 48, was the driver of the van. Officers looked inside the van and could see large spools of copper, the release said.

Supervisors at Power City Electric said Mulvaney is not an employee.

Mulvaney was booked into Spokane County Jail on a felony charge of second-degree burglary.

---

---