Bald Knob

By HOLLY LATIMER     08/07/2001
Staff Writer

  A new member of the Bald Knob police department got broken in the right way on Thursday as he found the components of a methamphetamine lab.

Dr. Jekyll, a German Shepherd trained to track, trail, and recover items, as well as to find narcotics, made his first drug bust as a member of the Bald Knob Police Department.

Brandon Wilson, Bald Knob K-9 officer, said he and Dr. Jekyll were called to assist a unit that made a stop on Bald Knob Lake Road.

The officer which Wilson assisted had asked for consent to search the vehicle and had been denied. The suspects previously ran after the initial stop, but returned to the vehicle.

After interviewing both suspects, Wilson decided to "run the dog on the car." Dr. Jekyll alerted Wilson to the trunk area and made an indication to the trunk.

"There were no finished products, but everything to make it was present," he said.

This bust is the first for Wilson and Dr. Jekyll since finishing certification. "We are battling a 1,000 so far," Wilson said.

Dr. Jekyll is certified internationally in 50 countries and is trained in tracking, trailing, and article recovery, as well as narcotic detection.

Wilson said that the citizens of Bald Knob contributed to the purchase of the dog to signal to drug users and manufacturers that they are not welcome in Bald Knob.

"We couldn't have bought him without their help," Wilson said.

Wilson said he found Dr. Jekyll in Lincoln, and after he seeing his picture, decided to purchase him. Wilson and the dog then trained for four weeks at Leap Canine in Lincoln.

Now that the team has its first bust under its belt, Wilson said he wants people to know that he and Dr. Jekyll will be on the streets and on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. "We will be looking for the right moment to make a big seizure," he said. They will be patrolling not only the city area, but the four-lanes of Highway 67.

Although the team has only been home from training for one week and has only had one call to search for narcotics, Wilson said that Dr. Jekyll more than paid for his costs and training with the singular bust. "With the street value of that lab, he already paid for himself. He broke even on one stop," Wilson said of the dog, whose price tag is approximately $8,600

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