CHARGES DISMISSED IN CASE LINKED TO RELIABILITY OF DRUG DOG

A federal judge dismissed a drug charge Thursday against a Virginia
couple after a federal prosecutor requested the charge be dropped.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Hugh Ward's motion asking for the charge to
be dismissed without prejudice against David M. Stonebreaker, 34, and
Pamela L. Whitmore Stonebreaker, 32, did not specify the reasons.

But earlier this month U.S. District Judge Leon Jordan denied Ward's
request to reconsider a May 14 decision to suppress as evidence 560
pounds of marijuana seized from a motor home the couple occupied last
summer, as well as statements they made about the drugs.

The judge had based his decision on a finding that Falco, a German
shepherd used as a drug-sniffing dog by the Knox County Sheriff's
Department, is wrong more times than he's right when searching
vehicles in the field.

"We won't appeal the decision of Judge Jordan to suppress the
evidence," Ward said. "If on further investigation, if we develop
grounds other than the issue relating to the suppression of evidence,
we will pursue those."

Without prejudice means the charge can be brought again at a later
date. "Mrs. Stonebreaker is very pleased the government has seen fit
to cease the prosecution of her," said her attorney, James Varner.

He also said they're pleased the government decided not to appeal the
case, but they believe the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals would
have agreed with Jordan.

"As attorneys for Mr. Stonebreaker and as citizens concerned with the
preservation of our Constitution, we are pleased with the ruling of
the Court and the decision of the (U.S.) Attorney's Office not to
appeal the ruling," attorney Bob Ritchie wrote in a statement about
the dismissal of the charge. Ritchie and attorney Richard Gaines
represented David Stonebreaker.

"As attorneys for Mr. Stonebreaker, we are pleased that he will have
the opportunity to rebuild his life without the burden of a criminal
conviction," Ritchie added. "As (citizens), we appreciate the courage
of the Court in making a ruling that recognizes and preserves the
Constitution."

An indictment returned the day the couple married charged the
Stonebreakers with conspiracy to distribute marijuana and possessing
marijuana with intent to distribute it. The charge stemmed from an
Aug. 31 traffic stop of their motor home near the West Town Mall.
While the couple were detained, the drug dog Falco indicated he
detected the odor of narcotics, and officers searched the
recreational vehicle and found the pot, according to earlier court
testimony.

Varner said he knows of no other cases where a court rejected the
dog's alert as a basis for probable cause, based on a low accuracy
rate. Testimony showed Falco alerted, indicating the presence of
narcotics, 225 times between 1998 and 2000, but officers found drugs
only 80 times. Ward asked Jordan to reconsider his ruling on the
grounds that records from Falco's controlled training show a 92
percent accuracy rate.

Jordan has said the dog's reliability must be determined by its
accuracy rate in the field. U.S. District Judge James Jarvis has said
using controlled searches, which consist of a handler hiding drugs in
a location and then recording the dog's performance in finding it, is
the true measure of the dog's ability.