U.S. Marshals team, tech-sniffing K-9 search sex offenders’ homes

GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — Hundreds of registered sex offenders are in our communities, but one group of law enforcement officers -- and a dog with a unique skill -- are making sure they’re following the law.

Channel 9′s Hannah Goetz rode along with the team to learn what it takes to keep the community safe.

It started with a briefing ahead of a joint operation to check on registered sex offenders, making sure they’re in compliance with court orders.

“I think with sex offenders, there’s a huge risk of reoffending, and I think that’s a lot of the fear in the communities that we serve,” said Capt. Jason Davis with the Gaston County Sheriff’s Office.

With nearly 500 registered sex offenders in Gaston County, the sheriff’s office does double the amount of compliance checks required by state law.

“Everything we do, the decisions that we make, is designed to strengthen that public trust, and when our community feels safe, then we’re accomplishing our goal,” Davis told Goetz.

The team includes the GCSO, the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office, the Department of Adult Corrections, Homeland Security, and the U.S. Marshals Service.

“So they’re going to go make contact with the offender; once that offender is detained as part of their procedures, or however they operate off of it, then they’ll call the team up, and the team will then clear the residence,” said Deputy U.S. Marshal Addison Friedman.

Compliance checks can mean anything from verifying addresses and workplaces to checking the home to make sure the offender doesn’t have anything they’re not supposed to.

During one check, a computer forensics team is on standby while Det. Chrissy Weaver with Cleveland County deploys K-9 Coca. She’s one of four electronics detection K-9s in the state, and she’s trained to find any technology that could be hidden.

“We are searching houses for electronics and often times, sex offenders will hide their devices,” Weaver said. “They don’t want us to check and see what’s on there, or they can violate probation if there’s pornography or child [sexual abuse material] or anything sexual in nature on those devices.”

After a sweep of the house, Coca found several devices.

“She found three cell phones and two laptops, and there was an external hard drive they found on the initial search, but she indicated where it was,” Weaver told Goetz.

Law enforcement seized those items before moving on to the next check.

“They will be taken back, and a forensic download will be done on those by the respective jurisdictions. And from there, if any warrants or charges are filed, or it may not be at all, then it’s just a way of seeing what, what is actually going on in those devices,” Friedman said. “It’s important because it keeps not just the community safe of Gaston County, but the greater Charlotte area, the state and as well as the country.”

In just September of this year, the U.S. Marshals Service Sex Offense Investigations branch opened more than 180 sex offender investigations. Friedman says these joint operations are crucial to keeping the area safe.

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