Chico and The Man score big on first day at work

Denton County K-9 Officer Chico showed off his training on his first day on the job Monday, leading his handler to a $100,000 cache of cocaine.

Drug Enforcement Investigator Sonny Smith and Chico had just returned from 13 weeks of training at the Canine Enforcement Training Center in Washington, D.C. The course is designed to teach law enforcement officers all aspects on handling, training and employing a detector dog, said Sheriff’s Capt. Jeff Wawro.

“The dogs are provided by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection,” Wawro said. “The dogs are worth $15,000 but we were able to get this one for $5,000 because of Sonny Smith, who has an excellent reputation in law enforcement.”

Smith came to the sheriff’s office from the Texas Department of Public Safety. Chico is a year and a half old, Smith said. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency named him and picked him for the Denton County agency because officers need him mostly for person and car searches, and search warrants.

“He’s a very passive dog,” Smith said. “Not aggressive with people. They train them to be very independent of their handlers. He has a routine that he does on his own with a people search. He does it for his reward, which is his towel. He’s very possessive of his towel and he knows he will get it afterward.”

On Monday, Smith and Chico visited a bus stop at the TA Travel Center about 1:30 p.m., Wawro said. The bus driver gave Smith permission to search the baggage compartments as the passengers left the bus. When the officer and dog entered the cabin of the bus, Smith noticed that one man had not exited and was sitting on a back seat.

“Chico walked up to the seated passenger and as he got close, he alerted by sitting and staring at the passenger,” Wawro said.

Smith found 2.2 pounds of cocaine with a street value of $100,000 hidden in the man’s clothing, authorities said.

Gorge Leal Sandoval, 42, of Brownsville was on his way to Wichita, Kan., Wawro said. He is being held in Denton County Jail on a charge of manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance in lieu of $50,000 bail.

"Chico has a different certification than other drug dogs" said Smith’s sergeant, Jeff Davis. "He’s able to do people searches. He’s a puppy and very friendly. He walks up to people and puts his nose near them. If they have something on them, he sits down and stares at them."