K-9 Duke Helps Seize 70 Pounds of Meth in Mendocino

Two Redwood Valley men are arrested

K-9 Duke poses with seized methamphetamine (Photo courtesy of the Mendocino Sheriff’s Office)

A Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office narcotics investigation led to the seizure of approximately 70 pounds of suspected methamphetamine in Mendocino County earlier this month, with the help of the agency’s K-9 Duke.

The search was part of an investigation that began in April into alleged methamphetamine trafficking by Bernabe Calderon-Nunez, 49, and Jonathan Perez Santos, 18, both of Redwood Valley.

On July 21, detectives with the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Narcotics Unit served five search warrants tied to the investigation. During one of the searches in Mendocino County, Duke, a narcotics-detection dog, located about 70 pounds of suspected methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $1.5 million, along with 17 grams of cocaine, nearly $100,000 in cash, and evidence investigators said was related to narcotics sales and trafficking.

According to Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Nicholas Miller, Duke is a 7-year-old Belgian Malinois-German Shepherd mix who joined the department in 2020. He is trained as a dual-purpose K-9 for narcotics detection and suspect apprehension and assisted detectives by locating the drugs during the search.

Calderon-Nunez was arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance for sale and sale of narcotics. Detectives obtained a bail enhancement, and he was initially held on $200,000 bail before later being released from custody.

Perez Santos was arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance for sale and booked into the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility. He was later released on zero bail.