Arkansas State Police Interstate Criminal Patrol Episode #1| K9 Raptor "Free Air Sniff"!

On 3/4/2023 at approximately 15:31 hours, I was on routine patrol on I-40 Eastbound when I observed a black Chevrolet
Suburban bearing Missouri license plate# EJ7H4Y. I observed the vehicle change lanes from the left lane to the right lane
failing to use a turn signal.Show more

I initiated my emergency equipment, conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle on I-40 Eastbound at the 176 mile marker, and
made contact with the driver of the vehicle (later identified as Henry Miller. Upon making contact with Miller, I identified myself
as an Arkansas State Trooper, and advised him why he had been stopped. Miller stated that the reason that he had not used
his turn signal was because he was on the phone. Then asked Miller for his driver’s license and vehicle information. Miller
provided me with his driver’s license and stated that the vehicle was a rental car. Miller also stated that he had rented the
vehicle in Tulsa, OK and had an electronic copy of the rental agreement on his phone.

I then had Miller exit the vehicle and
come to the front on my patrol unit so that he could show me a digital copy of the rental agreement on his phone. After Miller
exited the vehicle I asked him where he was coming from and where he was traveling to. Miller stated that he was coming from
Tulsa, OK and was traveling to Atlanta, GA to visit a friend.
While standing in front of my patrol unit, I noticed that Miller seemed to be extremely nervous (his hands were shaking, he
wouldn’t make eye contact with me, and his breathing was heavy and labored). I asked Miller why he was so nervous and he
stated that he was just stressed out and that he had been drinking a lot of coffee. I then asked Miller if there was anything
illegal inside of his vehicle and Miller stated “No there isn’t”. I also asked Miller if everything inside of the vehicle belonged to
him and he stated “Yes”.

As a result of Miller’s extreme nervousness, I asked him for consent to search his vehicle, and Miller
stated “I’d rather you not”. I advised Miller that I had a narcotics detector canine and that I was going to deploy him to conduct
a free air sniff of the exterior of his vehicle. I also advised Miller that if the canine alerted to the odor of narcotics, that I would
have probable cause to search his vehicle.
After speaking with Miller, I advised to stand on the shoulder of the roadway so I could conduct the canine sniff. I then
deployed my narcotics detector canine “Raptor” to conduct a sniff of the exterior of the vehicle. During the sniff, “Raptor”
indicated to the odor of narcotics. After the sniff was complete, I advised Miller that I was going to conduct a probable cause
search of his vehicle. I also asked Miller if he wanted to be honest about what he had inside of the vehicle, and Miller stated
“I’ve got Cannabis”.

I then asked Miller how much marijuana was inside of his vehicle and he stated “I think there’s 25 pounds”.
I then took Miller into custody, advised him of his Miranda Rights, and secured him in the rear of my patrol unit. Once Miller
was secured in the rear of my patrol unit, I conducted a search of the interior of his vehicle.
While searching the interior vehicle I located (2) large gray suitcases and (2) large black plastic totes in the rear cargo area of
the vehicle. Upon opening the suitcases and plastic totes, I observed numerous vacuum sealed packages containing
suspected marijuana (approximately 42 pounds in total weight). Rich’s Wrecker Service was contacted and later arrived on
scene to tow Miller’s vehicle to the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office so that the suspected marijuana could be removed from the
vehicle.

Miller was transported to the Lonoke County Jail for booking where he was charged with Possession of a Controlled
Substance with Purpose to Deliver and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.
The suspected marijuana that was located inside of the vehicle was secured as evidence and turned over to Agent Paul
Hofstad with the 17th Judicial Drug Task Force. Miller had $3,991.00 in U.S. Currency on his person at the time of his arrest
that he stated was provided to him as “travel money” by the people he was transporting the suspected marijuana for. This U.S.
Currency was seized from Miller and deposited into the Arkansas State Police Asset Forfeiture Account at Centennial Bank.
Miller was provided with a copy of the seizure form.