A California man who tried to skip out on a taxi fare was arrested early Monday in Evans

after an extensive search involving several police agencies, K-9 units and a sheriff's

helicopter, state police reported.

Troopers say they received a call at 8:25 a.m. from A-Cab, a taxi company in Dunkirk.

Driver Tim Ward had picked up a fare in Dunkirk who wanted to go to Buffalo Niagara

International Airport in Cheektowaga. The man had several pieces of luggage and three

dachshunds he described as "his life."

He said he didn't have cash but he could pay with a credit card, Ward told The Buffalo

News.

Ward headed east on the Thruway and called his office to run the credit card number. That

card and another both came up flagged as lost or stolen when a dispatcher ran the numbers,

Ward said.

Ward then pulled over at the Angola service area and told the man he couldn't drive him any

farther until he proved he could pay. The one-way fare from Dunkirk to the airport costs $96,

and the passenger at that point owed $58.

The fare went into the service station to call his daughter, asked her for money and gave

her A-Cab's number, Ward said.

A man called A-Cab, said he would take care of the problem and then hung up on the

dispatcher, the cabbie said.

At that, the dispatcher called state police to report a possible fare skipper, and Trooper

Ward Wilson went to the scene.

The trooper asked for the daughter's number and called her, but she said she wouldn't pay

for her father's trip.

The fare then said he had left his wallet next to a pay phone and he needed to go back

inside to get it.

After a few minutes, Ward and Wilson got a bad feeling and went through the service station

to try to find the man.

When they failed to locate him, Ward got into the police cruiser and drove around with

Wilson unsuccessfully searching the immediate area for the fare.

Troopers then called in K-9 units, the Erie County sheriff's helicopter and Evans town

police to help in the search and to set up a perimeter around the service area.

"We had him hemmed in pretty good," said State Police Capt. Michael Nigrelli of the Thruway

detail, adding that police knew the man's identity.

Ward, who was stuck at the service station throughout the search, saw the copter flying low

over the area.

"I asked the officer, "Is that because of this?' " Ward recalled.

Just after 11 a.m., the sheriff's copter directed police on the ground to an abandoned

garage on Gowans Road in Evans.

Kevin G. Holt, 48, of Alpine, Calif., was found hiding in the rafters of the garage.

He was charged with theft of services and obstructing governmental administration, both

misdemeanors. The SPCA Serving Erie County took Holt's dogs.

A former area resident, Holt is wanted on three outstanding warrants from California and

Idaho for burglary and domestic assault, state police said.

How much the search cost was not known.