Jose Hernandez,charged with a first degree felony after K-9 officers ripped apart the car he was driving to expose an expertly hidden cache of powder

Jose Hernandez, 45, of 1815 Ozark St., Memphis, was stopped on Interstate 20 on Wednesday by a local deputy and was charged with a first degree felony after K-9 officers ripped apart the car he was driving to expose an expertly hidden cache of powder cocaine valued at more than $250,000.Cpl. Randy Payne of Harrison County Sheriff?s with his K-9 partner, Rusty, a Belgian shepherd dog. The two are responsible for the arrest of a Tennessee man, who was transporting 29 pounds of powder cocaine on Interstate Highway 20 in a hidden compartment of a Volkswagen Jetta.Sgt. Steve Ashmore praised the diligence of a young officer and his dog in making the bust.The crime with which Hernandez is charged is punishable by a term of between five to 99 years or life in the penitentiary.Ashmore said Cpl. Randy Payne, a K-9 officer for the past five months, used his dog to ascertain there were drugs in the 1995 Volkswagen Jetta that Hernandez was driving eastbound on the interstate.Ashmore, who is Payne's supervisor, said the deputy was out with another traffic stop at approximately 3:30 p.m. at a point between the 618 and 619 mile markers when the Jetta sped by.Texas law is that drivers are required either to slow down or change lanes "when they see a patrol car with its overhead lights on," Ashmore explained, adding the operator of the Volkswagen did neither.Payne pursued him, stopping the vehicle at the 620 mile marker, which is near Farm-to-Market Road 31 and Scottsville.The deputy "had a little bit of a language barrier when he asked for consent to search the car," Ashmore said. So Payne checked the vehicle with Rusty, a Belgian malinois (shepherd dog)."His dog got an alert," Ashmore said. After Payne informed Hernandez of the hit, the driver "got a dollar bill out of his wallet that had been folded to contain a couple of grams of powder cocaine."Ashmore said Payne then arrested Hernandez and "decided to bring everybody and the car to the sally port" outside the jail.Payne suspected there were additional drugs in the vehicle because Rusty indicated it and because Hernandez and a passenger, his 16-year-old stepdaughter, gave conflicting stories.Hernandez said he was on his way home after having been to Dallas to look for work, while the teenager said they had taken a female friend to Dallas so she could go back to Mexico to have her baby.
Ashmore said Payne called for the assistance of Gregg County K-9 officer Tracy Freeman to search the Jetta and the two spent approximately four hours before locating the drugs."They knew it was in the dashboard," Ashmore said of the cocaine, "but it was well hidden. Someone had done a professional job of installing a special compartment in the dash to contain the drugs.
"They totally dismantled the vehicle," Ashmore said, adding the car will have to be scrapped.Hernandez was arraigned Friday morning before Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace Mike Smith.That procedure was delayed because Hernandez complained of chest pains Wednesday night and was taken to Good Shepherd Medical Center-Marshall for observation.Ashmore said the teenager was never a suspect in the case. Her mother was notified of her whereabouts Wednesday night and, per her request, motel accommodations were provided here. Someone came to Marshall to get the girl Thursday morning, he added.The wrapped bags of powder cocaine weighed in at 29 pounds, which Ashmore said, probably cost the purchaser "a quarter of a million dollars."He had said earlier that cocaine sells on the street for about $900 per ounce, placing the value of the stash at approximately $417,600.On Oct. 30, Payne made a traffic stop for speeding at the 624 mile post marker on I-20 and arrested two people, a Carrolton woman and a New Orleans man, for possession of 274.6 grams of powder cocaine.Ashmore called Payne "an excellent young officer. He is doing a super job. He's upbeat and has been working really hard. Now things are coming together for him."Payne thanked Freeman for his assistance, noting the older officer is his mentor.He also praised Rusty, noting his canine partner, bred and born in Holland, "is worth every penny" of his purchase price."He tore great chunks out of that dash. It was like he said, 'Daddy, it's in there!' You gotta trust your dog," Payne said.