Police arrested a New Hampshire man Saturday on multiple charges, but before he was arrested he attempted to steal a police cruiser and was bitten several times by a police K-9 officer, authorities said.

According to Fayette County Sheriff Steve Kessler, a 29-year-old man attempted to rob a gas station on U.S. 19 in Bradley, Raleigh County. He entered the Sunoco Station and acted as though he had a weapon when he demanded money. The clerk, though, refused to comply with his demands, and the robber fled.

The suspect, Joel E. Farrell, drove away in a Nissan Altima with New Hampshire registration. A Fayette County deputy spotted him at about 11:15 a.m. Saturday in the Oak Hill area. The deputy tried to get the driver to stop, but the suspect continued to flee, running another deputy's vehicle off the road and nearly hitting other vehicles traveling on Gatewood Road.

The suspect eventually turned onto Clay Street, drove through a yard and fled into the woods on foot.

"This individual picked a really bad morning to commit a crime in Fayette County," Kessler noted in a prepared statement. "At the time, we had just finished giving our physical agility test for applicants for the Sheriff's Office, so we had about eight deputies in the Oak Hill area at the time -- far more than we would have normally working on a Saturday morning."

Officers from other agencies also joined the chase. Police said the suspect doubled back from the point where he entered the woods and attempted to steal an Oak Hill cruiser. As officers tried to remove Farrell from the cruiser, he accelerated and drove the cruiser over the hill into a heavily wooded area, causing substantial damage to the cruiser.

As officers approached Farrell, he refused to surrender. A K-9 unit was deployed, and the dog bit Farrell several times. After police reached Farrell, they took him to Plateau Medical Center in Oak Hill to be treated for his injuries.

Once police completed a background check on Farrell, they discovered his name had been entered into the National Crime Information Center as missing. The car he was driving also was listed as stolen.

Police are still investigating the case and trying to determine if Farrell has any ties to the area.

They charged him with driving under the influence of a controlled substance (marijuana), fleeing while under the influence of a controlled substance, grand larceny, bringing stolen property into the state, felony destruction of property and obstructing an officer.

He will be arraigned on the charges after he is released from the hospital.