Find of the Quarter 2021 (4th)
DEPUTY DEREK MILLER
K-9 FADO
WARRICK COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE (INDIANA)
On 11/3/2021, I was a called to assist Sgt. Bennett on a traffic stop at SR261 and Vann Rd. Bennett had requested me so that I could utilize my USPCA certified K9 Partner Fado for a free air sniff of the vehicle. I arrived and deployed Fado from the back of my car on a 6` lead. The occupants chose to stay in the vehicle while i ran Fado around the car.
Fado was very anxious and trying to pull toward the car. I put him in a sit position at the passenger side headlamp of the vehicle. He was anxious to get to search and kept trying to break from the sit to search. I observed he had his nose stuck out and was already sniffing. When I gave him the dope seek command he pushed past me and went to the driver`s side of the car. He sniffed the driver`s door b-post seam in the area of the door handle very carefully and went into a sit, which is his alert that he has located the odor of Narcotics. I encouraged him to search on. He sniffed around the car and again sniffed the b-post of the passenger side front door in the area of the door handle and sat. I began to walk Fado back to my car and informed Sgt. Bennett that Fado had alerted on the car.
Fado had to stop and relieve himself, as dogs do, before he got back in the car. I observed the passenger hop out of the car without an officer around him. I looked to see if Fado was done and thought i heard a noise from the passenger side of the car. I put Fado back in the car. As I was walking back up Sgt. Bennett came around the passenger side of the car and looked under the car. He retrieved an eye glass case. He told the passenger that he knew he had dropped the article. Suspect stated he did not, but the article was in really good shape, not at all like it had been lying on the road for an extended time. Also Fado never tried to go under the car, and he would have if the article had been there and contained meth. Bennett opened the item and I observed the end of what appeared to be a meth pipe. I placed the male suspect in cuffs. Bennett soon advised me to cuff the female as he had located a baggy of suspected meth in her wallet. I placed her in handcuffs.
The males suspect asked to smoke a cigarette and was given one. We needed a lighter so I looked in the female`s purse to see if she had one. Inside the purse I located a clear plastic baggy that was tied at the top and contained multiple pills that I recognized through my training and experience the pills appeared consistent in appearance with Xanax. I notified Sgt. Bennett of locating the pills. When the search was concluded I transported the male suspect to the Warrick Jail. The pills were the only items of evidence I located during the search of the vehicle. Sgt. Bennett later informed me that 1ounce of Crystal meth had been located inside the female`s vagital cavity during her body scan.