The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Program has had a direct impact on the “war” on illegal drugs since September 2017 when the program was reinstituted by Sheriff Doug Schuster.
The teams have been called out 160 times, conducted 59 drug sniffs – 57 of those calls ended in arrests and $95,102 cash was seized.
The handler/k-9 teams were instrumental in seizing: 1,051 pounds of marijuana with a street value of $2,180,000; 9.5 pounds of methamphetamine with a street value of $2,610; 5.24 ounces of heroin with a street value of $10,430; 820 THC (marijuana) vape pens with a street value of $16,400; 112 high-grade THC (marijuana) cigars with a street value of $8,400; 280 packages of marijuana edibles with a street value of $5,600; and 220 pounds of ecstasy (MDMA) on a sniff conducted for Arizona Department of Public Safety with a street value of $2,000,000.
Mohave County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) currently has four deputy/K-9 teams assigned to the MCSO K-9 Program, and they have diversified and varied law enforcement backgrounds. They include:
• Deputy J. Wilson, along with his K-9 partner Doc, patrols the Fort Mohave, Topock and Mohave Valley areas, he has been with MCSO for 16 years. During his time with Mohave County, he served as a MCSO K-9 handler 11 years ago prior to being assigned different duties. “Before becoming a deputy, I worked as a reserve officer with the Fort Mohave Tribal Police,” Wilson said. “I again asked questions about becoming a K-9 handler and Sheriff Schuster asked me to be one of the four deputies with the K-9s since I had prior experience.”
• Sergeant K. McCool, along with his K-9 partner Chase, patrols the Kingman, Golden Valley areas and has been with MCSO since January 2012. He began his patrol duties upon his graduation from the academy May 3, 2012. “I used to help out former K-9 handlers, when they were training their service dogs,” McCool said. “I expressed an interest in becoming a K-9 handler and I received a call from the sheriff asking me to be one of the team members.”
• Deputy J. Felish, along with his K-9 partner Brutus, patrols the Arizona Strip area. Felish has been with MCSO since 2016. Prior to that, he worked as a law enforcement officer for Arizona Game and Fish Department from 2009 to 2016. “I’ve had an interest in K-9s for a long time,” Felish said. “I requested the assignment and was lucky enough to be accepted. The dog I picked out is an 80-pound Malinois and his name fits him well.”
• Deputy K. Gunnoe, along with his K-9 partner Bruno, patrols the Kingman and Golden Valley areas. Gunnoe returned to MCSO during April 2017. He originally joined MCSO in 2007 and worked for Mohave County for about seven years and served as a K-9 handler from 2012-2014, prior to departing. During his hiatus from MCSO, he worked as a tribal police officer for the Hualapai Nation Police Department. “I served in the U.S. Air Force from 1993-2006,” Gunnoe said, “and worked as a military dog handler for 10 years, serving a tour of duty in the Middle East.”
Another deputy and canine are currently attending the K-9 training academy in Riverside, Calif., and when they graduate during August, they will be assigned to the Lake Havasu area.
“Once the deputy and his canine partner finish their training, they will join our K-9 team,” said Sheriff Schuster. “This is a great asset to our citizens and deputies as we will continue to aggressively attack illegal drug trafficking and work diligently to rid our streets of this illegal poison.” The sheriff wanted to stress that even though the deputies and their canine partners are assigned to a normal patrol area, if someone needs a K9, they will respond wherever they are needed.
The MCSO K-9 Program receives no funding from the state or county and operates solely on donations from the Mohave County Sheriff’s K-9 Foundation (a non-profit organization), various businesses and concerned citizens.
According to the sheriff officials, people are very excited countywide about the K-9 Program. “I too am very excited about it,” Sheriff Schuster said. “We are seeing great success with the deploying of these K-9s in an ongoing effort to reduce crime, especially drug related activity.”
People who would like further information about Mohave County Sheriff’s K-9 Program can call the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office at (928) 753-0753.
The Mohave County Sheriff’s K-9 Foundation purchases K-9s for MCSO; the cost of training schools for the dogs and handlers; veterinary care; feed for the K-9s; and all other associate costs in regard to the care and upkeep of the K-9s.
The Mohave County Sheriff’s K-9 Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization and all donations are a tax-deductible contribution. Individuals or organizations who would like to host a fundraiser event or would like to make a tax-deductible donation to the MCSO K-9 Foundation, can call foundation board member John Sanchelli at (651) 270-0920 or visit their website at https://mcsk9f.com.
-Butch Meriwether
