Texas Dog Takes a Bite out of Spotsy Crime

Local police can thank Nancy, a K-9 police officer in Pearland, Tx., who literally helped police sniff out a package of cocaine whose discovery led to a massive drug bust this past September in Spotsylvania County.

Her role, though important, was left out of initial reports of the drug bust. Without Nancy's nose, and the work of her handler, Pearland Police Officer Eric Morton, the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's might have missed a chance to seize close to $750,000 in drugs, money and property from a major regional cocaine supplier.

Nancy and Officer Morton are finally getting a little bit of press for their key role after they were featured in Pearland's recently released quarterly newsletter.

From thousands of miles away they helped arrest Spotsylvania residents George Leonard Jasper, Jr., age 43, and Mabel Terrero Acosta, age 23. Jasper stands charged with trafficking cocaine and conspiracy to traffic cocaine. Acosta was charged with only conspiracy to traffic cocaine.

when the Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office received a call from a police department in Texas. There, Morton had set Nancy to work searching a FedEx shipping facility, sniffing the packages as they were being sorted on a conveyor belt.

The dog, trained in narcotics detection signaled the presence of drugs on a package addressed to 10400 Norfolk Way in Spotsylvania County. The officer took down the tracking number on the package, and left it to continue on its destination.

Spotsylvania County detectives used a search warrant to seize the package when it arrived in Stafford County. It was found to contain three grams of marijuana and two kilos of cocaine. The package was switched out for a dummy package, which was delivered by the Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office Street Crimes Unit driving a mock FedEx van to Jasper's residence.

About half an hour after delivering the package, Jasper left the house, placing the package in his doorway. He, and passenger Acosta, got into a truck and drove away from the residence. The truck was pulled over a short distance away, and Jasper and Acosta were taken into custody.

Sheriff's office Emergency Response Team then raided the home. Inside, they found another 1.5 kilos of cocaine lying on the dining room table and another half pound of marijuana was found in the basement. Police also found several sets of large scales and evidence of prior FedEx deliveries.

Police also found literal piles of money all over the home, estimated at $400,000.

In all, police seized 6.5 pounds of cocaine, a half pound of marijuana, $347,289 in cash, a 2007 Ford F-150 pickup truck, a 2003 Lincoln Navigator, a 2011 Chevrolet Corvette, six large flat screen TVs, laptop computers and a char-broil infrared gas grill during the raid.

Jasper had been out of Federal prison for two years, where he had served time for drug trafficking.