SAMPLE CANINE SNIFF SEARCH WARRANT AFFIDAVIT

SAMPLE CANINE SNIFF SEARCH WARRANT AFFIDAVIT:

AFFIDAVIT

EL DORADO COUNTY SHERIFF

POLICE SERVICE DOG / NARCOTIC DETECTOR DOG

"TRACKER"

HANDLER: DEPUTY TERRY FLECK

TRACKER’S EXPERIENCE, TRAINING, CERTIFICATIONS and FINDS:

One year in training.

Eight years as a certified Police Service Dog / Narcotics Detector Dog.

Police Service Dog Tracker was certified with his handler, Deputy Terry Fleck, by the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office on March 23, 1997, after successfully completing 120 hours of training. Tracker was trained to detect the odor of five controlled substances: marijuana, hashish, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. The National Narcotic Detector Dog Association recertified the team of Tracker and Fleck on May 4, 1997, on those same five odors.

Since the team’s initial certification and recertification, Tracker and Fleck have successfully completed various yearly courses on canine contraband detection, totaling approximately 400 hours. The team has also recertified on the five odors, on a yearly basis, certifying on: October 19, 1997, October 28, 1998, October 15, 1999, October 20, 2000, October 2, 2001, October 15, 2002, October 23, 2003, and October 11, 2004. All certifications were administered by a Certified State of California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Canine Team Evaluator, certifying to the State of California K-9 Team Standard.

Tracker and Fleck train weekly on all odors the dog is trained to detect. This on-going training averages 16 hours per month. Tracker’s accuracy rate in training is 98.2% accurate, with a 1.8% false response rate. On-going training includes:

Training in all areas of interdiction, such as vehicles, boats, truck tractor and trailers, people, schools, currency, parcels and mail, airports nd airplanes, bus and bus depots, storage units, residences, trains and train depots, prisons, motels, apartments, etc;
Training on various quantities of controlled substances, ranging from grams to pounds;
Training on novel odors, such as odors that are distracting, masking, or new;
Training on controlled negative (blank) testing, in which all objects or locations have no contraband present;
Extinction training, which proofs the dog and prevents him from alerting to common items associated with controlled substances, such as plastic bags, etc.

Deputy Fleck maintains weekly training logs of the on-going training. In addition, Fleck also maintains an active working search log. Both logs are updated on a yearly basis and are current through December 31, 2005.

Since March 1997, Tracker’s positive alert has established probable cause for these search warrants:

• 8-25-98:    Tahoe Township Justice Court (Nevada).
• 10-15-99: El Dorado County Superior Court (California).
• 3-8-00:      El Dorado County Superior Court (California).
• 12-4-01:    El Dorado County Superior Court (California).
• 5-27-02:   Tahoe Township Justice Court (Nevada).

DEPUTY TERRY FLECK’S EXPERIENCE, TRAINING and CERTIFICATIONS:

• 27 years in law enforcement.
• 25 years as a Police Service Dog/Narcotic Detector Dog handler/trainer.
• 3,618 hours of basic and advanced Peace Officer training.
• 15,479 hours of basic and advanced Police Service Dog/Narcotic Detector Dog training.
• California P.O.S.T. Advanced certificate.
• California P.O.S.T. Canine Team Evaluator certificate.
• In the 21 years as a canine handler working three different dogs, Deputy Fleck has participated in hundreds of controlled substance searches.
• In addition, Deputy Fleck has been present and observed hundreds of controlled substance searches conducted by other canine teams.

SEARCH REQUEST:

On 12-30-01 at about 1730 hours, I met agents with the SLEDNET task force at Harrah’s Casino at Stateline, Nevada. The agents requested a canine sniff of the air space surrounding numerous parcels and suitcases inside the Greyhound Bus depot within Harrah’s.

I retrieved my certified Narcotics Detector Dog/Police Service Dog “Tracker” from my vehicle. I commanded Tracker to search for the odor of the controlled substances. He is trained to detect marijuana, hashish, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. Upon location of one of these five controlled substances, Tracker is trained to bite and paw at the source of the odor. This is called an “aggressive alert.”

Tracker began to sniff the airspace surrounding the numerous items within the bus depot. Tracker sniffed several boxes. He came to a white cardboard box and alerted to the odor of one or more of the controlled substances that he is trained to detect. This alert may also indicate items recently contaminated with the odor of one or more of the controlled substances. Tracker alerted by biting and scratching the item where the odor was coming from. Tracker sniffed and then bit into the white cardboard box. Tracker then re-sniffed the other side of the box and bit into it. This alert is consistent with his training. This left two canine bites into the box.

SLEDNET Agent Bob Smith witnessed Tracker’s alert. Smith noted the white box and is able to describe the box in detail.

Tracker continued to search the depot. He sniffed several other similar boxes and several suitcases. There was approximately 30 items, boxes and suitcases, within the depot. There was no other alert to the presence of controlled substances. Tracker disregarded all other items within the depot, with the exception of the white box. SLEDNET Agent Bob Smith took custody of the white box.

CONCLUSION:
Based upon the alert of Tracker, a certified Narcotic Detector Dog, and the reading of that alert by Deputy Terry Fleck, probable cause exists for a search warrant for the white box for:
• The presence of marijuana, hashish, cocaine, heroin or methamphetamine, and/or
• The presence of items recently contaminated with, or associated with, the odor of marijuana, hashish, cocaine, heroin or methamphetamine.

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