VIDEO: A Pair Of Monroe County Deputies Take A Bite Out Of A Crime

MONROE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Operations like Thursday’s sting take the teamwork of multiple agencies and dozens of law enforcement officers.

K-9 Deputy Gunner and his Handler Master Sgt. Andy Lockhart have been partners for almost three years, and last night’s bust was one of the many they’ve helped worked.

A $15,000 dollar donation from a citizen made it possible for K-9 Deputy Gunner to join the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department.

“He actually came from Budapest, Hungary. He was imported to us. It took him three days to fly to us, with passports. He’s got tattoos in his ears for identification. We picked him up from the Memphis Airport, and he’s been with me, he was a year old, and he’s been with me ever since,” says Lockhart.

Gunner is a dual purpose dog. He specializes in all major narcotics, will track, and bite and hold on command.

Sheriff Cecil Cantrell says the four leg agent brings a whole new dimension to the department.

“If it’s there, this dog is going to find it, and you would not believe how many drug busts we’ve made with this dog. I’d hate to think what we’d have to do without one now, because we see the facts and figures that comes from this dog and what it’s brought to our department.”

Cantrell says Gunner pays for himself. All of the seized items he finds helps pay for his vet bills and food.

“We keep up with stats and all of our numbers and just last year, his first year of service, $194,800 dollars in property, drugs, and money seized,” says Lockhart.

Sheriff Cantrell believes the furry deputy has brought in at least a quarter of a million dollars so far in his second year.

This week alone, six cars have been seized because of Gunner, along with drugs, ranging from crack cocaine to meth.

“Everyone has the right to refuse consent to search. That’s where this tool, the K-9, comes in. Once they say, you know, ‘no you cannot search my car or whatever,’ the K-9 comes in. The K-9, I run the K-9 around the car, and he hits by scratching,” says Lockhart.

Gunner’s commands are given in German by his handler, which is one thing they learned in their five week training course.

Training lasted 12 to 14 hours a day, and although they don’t spend as long training these days, they still put in a minimum of 20 hours a week.

“The dog’s nose can break an odor down. We call it a stew theory, okay? If we walk in the room, we just smell a pot of stew cooking. If he walks in the room, he’s going to smell the beans, the carrots, peas, everything is broken down. He even will break meth down to the battery acid,” says Lockhart.

The sheriff’s department has another K-9 deputy who also lives with Gunner and Handler Lockhart.