A Lancaster man is in jail on cocaine and marijuana charges after a new K-9 dog helped SWAT and drug agents find drugs in the man’s home, officials said.
The dog, named Jack, alerted to areas in a bedroom closet of a home on Franandel Drive Thursday. said Doug Barfield, spokesman for the sheriff’s office. In the closet SWAT officers, Department of Homeland Security federal agents, State Law Enforcement Division agents, and deputies with the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office found cocaine, marijuana and crack cocaine, said Doug Barfield, spokesman for the sheriff’s office.
Police found 42 grams of crack, eight grams of powder cocaine, and more than a third of a pound of marijuana in the closet after the K-9 alerted to the drugs, Barfield said.
Police found two stolen guns in the bedroom, along with scales and drug paraphernalia, Barfield said.
New dog unit
The K-9 unit is relatively new to the sheriff’s office in the South Carolina county and has already shown to be effective with results such as Thursday’s drug and weapons seizure, said Lancaster County Sheriff Barry Faile.
Jack is a Belgian Malinois that joined the sheriff’s office in March along with two other dogs and handlers. Jack’s handler is Deputy Victoria Crowley, sheriff officials said.
Dogs find leads to felony drug trafficking charge
After the drug seizure, deputies charged Brandon Marquese Moore, 35, who lived in the home, with several drug offenses. Moore was charged with trafficking crack cocaine, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, two counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and two counts of possession of a stolen pistol, according to police and court records.
Under state law, trafficking cocaine between 28 grams — an ounce — and 100 grams carries a mandatory prison sentence in South Carolina of seven to 25 years in prison.
Moore was denied bond after a court hearing Thursday afternoon and remains in the Lancaster County jail, records show
