Jago Deserves a Big Treat: Howell K9 Helps Find 500 Bags of Heroin, 120 Grams of Marijuana in Separate Incidents

Jago, a Howell Police dog, has been praised by the Howell Township Police Department for leading officers to hundreds of bags of heroin and grams of marijuana during two separate searches last week.

On August 29, Leon White Jr., 36, of Howell, was stopped by Ptl. David Gilliland and Ptl. Nicholas Saltzman for a motor vehicle violation. Officer Nicholas Bondarew and Jago were then called to the scene, according to a statement by Detective Sgt. Eileen Dodd.

Jago gave multiple implications to Bondarew of the presence of drugs in the car, prompting officers to search White. He was discovered to have had 100 wax folds of heroin on his person, according to Dodd.

The white Jeep Grand Cherokee was then impounded and the officers applied for a search warrant. A subsequent search of the vehicle led to the discovery of 400 wax folds of heroin, according to police records.

White was charged with Possession of Heroin and Distribution of Heroin. He was then taken to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, with bail set at $32,000.

Just a few days later, Jago led officers to another large drug load, after Russell J. Bailey, 22, of Freehold, was pulled over by Patrol Officers Saltzman and Gilliland, and subsequently searched.

On September 4, the 2006 Dodge Charger operated by Bailey was stopped for equipment violations. While speaking to the Bailey, Officers Saltzman and Gilliland detected the odor of “raw marijuana” within the vehicle, according to Dodd.

Bailey declined the officers’ request to search the vehicle, resulting in Officer Bondarew and his partner, Jago, to be summoned to the scene.

After Jago gave a positive indication of drugs located within the vehicle, officers impounded the car and obtained a search warrant. Ptl. Saltzman and Ptl. Gilliland then searched the vehicle at police headquarters, where they found over 120 grams of marijuana, a digital scale, and various drug paraphernalia within, according to Dodd.

Bailey was then arrested and formally charged with Possession of Marijuana, Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, and Possession of Paraphernalia.

He was released on a criminal summons and his vehicle was seized.

Let’s hope Jago was given a nice big dog treat after helping his partner and police department!

An arrest is not a conviction, and every defendant is presumed innocent until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.