K9 Chase helps Redding Police Officers locate heroin hidden in vehicle
Photo: Sarah Masters
Originally published as a Redding Police Department press release –
“On Friday, November 13th, 2020, at 9:32 P.M., Redding Police Officer Ruiz was on patrol when he observed three people loitering in and out of a blue sedan in the Food Maxx parking lot located at 1330 Churn Creek Rd. The persons and vehicle did not appear to have any legitimate business in the parking lot, so Officer Ruiz made contact with them to ask what they were doing.
During the contact, Officer Ruiz learned that a female sitting inside of the vehicle, identified as 32 year of Sarah Masters of Yreka, had a misdemeanor warrant for her arrest out of the Shasta County Superior Court.
Redding Police K9 handler Officer Rouland, with his partner K9 Chase, responded to the Food Maxx parking lot to provide backup for Officer Ruiz. K9 Chase is a dual purpose canine that is used to assist officers in patrol functions and narcotic detection. Officer Rouland deployed K9 Chase for a scent search around the exterior of the sedan, and K9 Chase gave a positive alert to the presence of a drug odor emitting from within the vehicle.
Officers then searched the vehicle and located 30 grams of heroin concealed in the area Masters had been seated. The average single dose of heroin is 1 gram, making the amount seized by Officers enough to provide about 30 doses.
Sarah Masters was placed under arrest and booked at the Shasta County Jail for her warrant, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of heroin for sales.
The other two persons associated with the vehicle were identified as 38 year old Matthew Stienike of Yreka, and 38 year old Matthew Wible of Redding. Both Stienike and Wible were released from the scene.”
