County K9s help with drug arrests

It was a busy week for Trempealeau County Sheriff’s Department K9s Javy and Luke as they assisted in four traffic stops that led to six people being arrested on drug charges.

K9 Javy and partner deputy Jim Williams were involved in two arrests last Tuesday.

The first came in Arcadia when a city of Arcadia officer conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle driven by Heidi Nelson, 24, of Eau Claire at 2:30 a.m. The county’s K9 unit were called in and Javy alerted officers to the presence of narcotics.

During a search of the vehicle, officers found cocaine, marijuana and a prescription medication without a valid prescription. Nelson was arrested on drug charges.

At 10:16 p.m. the same day, a Whitehall city police officer conducted a stop and requested K9 assistance on a vehicle driven by Gage Lewallen, 28, of Augusta.

Javy was deployed and alerted the officers to the presence of narcotics. A search revealed a loaded firearm, heroin and marijuana inside the vehicle. Lewallen was arrested for possession of a firearm by a felon along with several drug charges.

Last Thursday, it was K9 Luke and partner deputy Eduardo Hernandez who helped with two arrests.

Hernandez and Luke conducted a traffic stop in the town of Gale at 1:30 p.m. Luke alerted officers to the presence of narcotics. Officers found methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia while searching the vehicle and arrested Amanda Matheney, 38, of La Crosse on several drug charges as a result.

The Trempealeau Police Department, Galesville Police Department and La Crosse County Sheriff’s Office assisted with the arrest.

It didn’t take long for Hernandez and Luke to get involved again as Hernandez conducted a stop in the city of Arcadia at 4:45 p.m. the same day. Hernandez again deployed Luke who alerted the presence of narcotics. Officers found methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia during a search of the vehicle.

Dawn Malecki, 46, of Holcomb; Robert Boettiger, 33, of Bruce and Travis Trudeau, 26, of Conrath were all arrested on drug charges. Malecki was also charged with operating while intoxicated-second offense.

The Arcadia and Independence police departments assisted with the arrest.

A release sent by the Trempealeau County Sheriff’s office said the arrests are a “snapshot of the many deployments of our dedicated K9s and their handlers.”