Accelerant Detection Canines, also called, arson dogs, help fire investigators and law enforcement locate accelerants at fire sites, but that’s not all they do. “Do you Smell That?” is a short story explaining the work of these amazing animals.
In Part One, Detective Jalen joins Forensics Investigator Tabatha Wilkens and Fire Chief Larry O’Donnell at the scene of a suspected arson. Besides a totally destroyed vacant home, firefighters found charred human remains. Unfortunately, the home was so badly destroyed that Wilkens cannot determine where the fire originated. This condition made it nearly impossible to find trace amounts of accelerants. They were at a dead end until O’Donnell called in an expert, accelerant detection canine, Polly and handler, Fire Examiner, Rich Jamison. Didn’t read Part 1? No problem. Visit my website to see how Polly found hard-to-find clues. https://idasmithbooks.com/accelerant-detection-canine-short-story/
Do you Smell That?
Part Two
by Ida Smith
Accelerant Detection Canines Help Find Suspects
“Really?” Jalen viewed Forensics Investigator Tabatha Wilkens and Fire Investigator Rich Jamison with skepticism. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No.”
“Can Polly smell a suspect?”
“Not quite. She’s trained to sniff accelerants. But accelerants can remain on people’s clothing and skin since both are porous.”
Jalen sighed. “So, what do you suggest?”
Rich glanced about him. “I say we search the crowd.”
Tabatha fidgeted. “I know I should head to the lab, but I want to see this.”
“So do I,” added Kevin, with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
“You filmed the crowd, haven’t you?” Detective Peterson asked.
Kevin nodded. “There are several who haven’t left.”
Jalen raised an eyebrow, and purposely looking at the team and not the crowd, he asked, “Without looking around, where do you think we should start?”
Kevin examined his fingernails. “I’d start with the crowd over by that blue Ford pickup about forty yards behind you. Especially the guy in the black hoodie and the hillbilly with the red cap and large paunch.”
Detective Peterson nodded and signaled over a couple of deputies. He gave them directions to monitor the two suspects.
Kevin leaned in. “Man, I wish I could film this.”
Jalen eyed him. “Do you think you can do it inconspicuously?”
Kevin grinned. “You bet.”
Detective Peterson turned to Rich. “Are you and Polly up for it?”
“We’re always ready.”
Tabatha and Kaylee made a show of recording the evidence while Kevin pretended to video them; the whole time, focusing the camera on the crowd behind them. As they distracted the crowd, Rich leaned into his dog and in a quiet voice said, “Polly, go search.”
Accelerant Detection Canine, Polly, wandered toward the crowd with Rich at the other end of the leash.
At the same time, Jalen and several deputies casually approached from different directions. Each appeared to be on their phones or looking at the destroyed house from different angles.
Polly perked up and began working; her nose down on the ground, up in the air, at fence posts, wheel wells and door handles of cars, shoes, and the hems of people’s pants and shirts. She bypassed the man in the red baseball cap but stopped and sat near a man standing behind most of the other onlookers.
The man, probably in his late forties, dressed in a faded plaid shirt and jeans, wore an old baseball cap pulled down over his eyes. He looked down at the dog and then at Rich. “I don’t like dogs. Get that thing away from me.”
Jalen approached from the other side. “This is an arson investigation, sir, and we believe you may know something about this fire.”
The man spun and glared at Jalen. “I don’t know nothing! And I don’t like this dog staring at me.” He turned and glared at Polly. “Now, leave me alone.” He made a move to leave, but Polly barked, and Jalen grabbed his arm.
“I don’t think so. What’s your name?”
“None of your business.”
“You can make this easy or hard. You’re choice. We just have a few questions and I’d like my friend Rich here to have his dog search you.”
“I will do none of the such.”
Polly barked again.
“Suit yourself.” Jalen showed the man his badge and slapped handcuffs on the man before he knew what was happening. “John Doe, you’re under arrest on suspicion of arson and murder. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…”
The man mumbled incoherent words and glanced about.
“You looking for someone?”
The man glared into Jalen’s brown eyes. “I’m not saying anything.”
“Come on, Polly.” Rich leaned into Detective Peterson. “I think I see his partner.” Rich tilted his head in a motioned across the street. Jalen turned to see a man in baggy jeans, about five-eleven, stepping away from the scene.
Rich and Polly were already headed toward him and with the intensity that Polly moved, Jalen figured she was on the scent.
As the second man picked up his pace. “Sir,” Rich called, “I need to talk with you.”
“I’ve got to get going. I’m late for work.”
“I really need to talk with you.”
A nearby officer joined Rich and blocked the man’s path.
The man leaned away from the dog as Polly sniffed his pant legs, shoes, and hand, then sat down. “What’s she doing?”
“Helping us with this arson investigation,” Rich responded. “Can you tell us your name?”
The man glanced between Rich, the dog, the officer, and Jalen, who had handed the first man off to another officer and just joined them. “Carl Dickens. Can this wait? I need to get to work.”
“No, it can’t.” Jalen held up his badge. “I’m Detective Jalen Peterson and this is Fire Investigator, Rich Jamison, and his dog, Polly. We have reason to believe that you know something about this fire.”
Dickens shrugged his shoulders. “Nope, just passing through and thought I’d see what was going on.”
Jalen looked at the black lab, her focus on Dickens. “I believe you know more than you’re letting on. I need you to come to the station with us.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Then I’ll arrest you on suspicion of arson.”
“I really need to get to work. How about I come over after I get off?”
Detective Peterson shook his head. “No dice. I need you now.”
***
Accelerant Detection Canine, Polly, continued to work off site.
At the station, it was clear the two men knew each other. First suspect, Roger Warren, identified himself when he learned that if he refused, by the time he went to court, he’d be held in contempt of court and not released. Warren was a local who held odd jobs and lived with his mother. The second man was a local, named Carl Dickens, who had no job, and no longer resided at the address on his driver’s license.
Shortly after arriving at the police station, Bobby Miller, the owner of the home, showed up. He stopped mid-stride when he saw the suspect, Carl Dickens. “What are you doing here?”
Jalen raised an eyebrow. “You two know each other?”
“He’s my half-brother,” Miller said. “What’s going on? I received a call that a house I own had caught fire, and I arrive here and see my half-brother?”
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out.” Jalen turned to an officer. “Holloway, can you put Mr. Miller here in room number three and see that Dickens and Warren are put in jumpsuits? Follow Jamison’s instructions on what to do with their clothes. Then put them in rooms five and six.”
Holloway nodded and motioned for Jamison to follow him.
Detective Emily Bly informed Jalen that the destroyed house belonged to Miller’s father and stepmother. “And get this, Carl Dickens was his stepmother’s son.”
“Well, isn’t that interesting?”
***
Fire Investigator Rich Jamison instructed officer Holloway to create two separate clothing lineups.One included Carl’s clothes and several samples of other clothing they collected from the station. The second included Roger Warren’s outfit and other samples. Next, Polly walked through both lineups. The dog sniffed each of the clothing items. Both times, she sat by the suspect’s clothes and pointed to the spots with accelerant.
The clothing was properly packaged in metal tins, labeled, recorded and delivered to Forensic Investigator Tabatha Wilkins. At the lab, Tabatha and her team were doing a visual examination of the samples they collected from the crime scene. Looking at each item under the microscope.
***
Jalen first interviewed Bobby Miller, the homeowner. “Is it true you own the home at 237 Bernard?”
“Yes. Is it true that it caught on fire?”
“What makes you ask that?”
“Several of my customers and former neighbors called to let me know. I was on my way to see when your officers came by and asked that I come down to the station.”
“Do you know how badly the home was destroyed?”
“Not exactly. Neighbors said it was pretty bad. You know what happened?”
“No, that’s why we’re investigating. Did they tell you we found a body?”
Miller, who wore blue pants and a white short-sleeved shirt with an emblem that read ‘Bobby Miller’ straightened. “Oh no, that’s awful!”
“Was anyone living in the home?”
“No. My father passed away about eight months ago. I’ve been working on it, fixing up to sell.”
“We were told the electricity was shut off.”
“Yes,” Miller confirmed. “I’ve been too busy to work on it, so I had it turned off to save money.”
“Do you owe any money on the house?”
“No. It’s paid free and clear. Why are you asking me this? Is something wrong?”
“Mr. Miller, it appears somebody murdered the individual we found in your home, and then set the house on fire to hide it.”
Miller stared at the table. “Oh, my gosh!” He shook his head. “You know who it was?”
“No. That’s what we’re trying to figure out.”
Miller sat, shocked.
“Where were you yesterday evening?”
“I got home around seven, ate dinner, watch some baseball, turned in around ten thirty.”
“Can anyone confirm this?”
Miller shook his head. “My wife left a year ago. Too many late nights at the filling station working on cars.”
Jalen nodded.
“With your permission, I have an accelerant detection canine here. I’d like to have the dog smell you for possible accelerants.”
“Me?”
“Yes, we need to rule you out as a suspect.”
Miller looked at him. “Do you know accelerant it was? I mean, I own a gas station. I can assure you I have gas on my hands and clothes.”
“I’m sure you do. But I need to check, anyway.”
“Listen, Detective Peterson, I understand you’re trying to do your job, but I feel I’m being framed. I think if you don’t mind, I’m going to call a lawyer.”
Jalen left Bobby Miller with an officer and left to interview Carl Dickens. But before he did, Detective Bly pulled him aside. “I think you should know, she said. We found a bag of cocaine in Carl Dickens inside jacket pocket.”
Jalen smiled. “Thank you. That’s very helpful. Do you have a notebook?”
“Always.”
“Good. Join me.”
“So, Carl, at the fire, you said you were just passing through. Now we learn that the home that burned belongs to your family, and that you once lived there. Do you want to clarify that?”
Dickens raised his hands. “Okay, okay.”
Jalen leaned back in the chair, waiting to hear the man’s story.
“I was driving home from a friend’s house when I saw the fire. I was concerned, because the home I grew up in was in that neighborhood, so I swung by. Man, just couldn’t believe what I saw. I just couldn’t take my eyes off it.”
“What time was this?”
“Oh, about twelve-thirty, no, one-thirty.”
Jalen made a mental note of the two times Carl gave him.
“What did you find?”
Carl took a deep breath and massaged his forehead. “I couldn’t believe it. My childhood home was fully engulfed in flames and firefighters had just arrived.”
“So, you stuck around all night and into the morning?”
“Man!” Carl lifted his hat from his head and ran his hands through greasy hair. “It just blew me away. I was wondering, man, how could this happen?”
Peterson waited.
Carl tapped his finger against his head. “But then, in here, I see you have that selfish, uppity brother of mine. I see you got it all figured out.”
“Possibly. But I’d like to hear what you think happened.”
Carl raised his hands. “Isn’t it obvious? That brother of mine is greedy. Did you know I asked if I could live there and he said ‘no’?”
“He told me was fixing it up to sell.”
“Ha,” laughed Carl. “Na. He wouldn’t put the money into it. Now he started that fire. He wants insurance money. And will he share any of it with me? No. I suppose you know he owns a gas station down on Eighth and Montgomery?”
“I knew he owned a filling station.”
“Oh yeah, you’ve seen the price of gas these days. He is making money hand over fist. But does he cut his employees any slack? No! My buddy Todd Atkins was working for him. Todd asked him for a loan, but would Bobby help him? Of course not. Man, Todd was desperate. His landlord raised the rent and was gonna to kick him out. He only needed fifty bucks. But Bobby wouldn’t help him. So, what was Todd to do? He had to pay his rent. So, he took it from the till.”
“Was my brother understanding of Todd’s situation? No. He fired him. Naw, Bobby hated Todd. I heard he had it in for him, was gonna make Bobby pay. A couple of guys I know said they saw Bobby with Todd last night. I’ll bet you anything, that body found in the house there, that’s Todd Atkins.”
Jalen suppressed a smile at the mention of Todd Atkins, while Detective Bly made note of the name.
“I bet he used gas from his station.”
Peterson considered this idea. Could Rich’s accelerant detective canine differentiate between brands of gasoline?
Or was that a job for the lab? “Do you know how I can contact these guys who told you this?”
Carl paused. “Not a clue. Just some fellows I run into now and then.”
“What are their names?”
“Joe.” He paused for a moment. “Or is it, Jerry? I can’t remember.”
“And the other guy?”
Carl shook his head. “Greg, maybe. I’m not sure. I haven’t seen them in a while. Just ran into them and we got to talking.”
“And where was this?”
Carl shrugged. “One of the bars I was at last night. I don’t remember which.”
Jalen rolled his eyes at Bly and stood. “Get a description of these guys. I’m going to go talk to Warren.”
Jalen’s discussion with Warren revealed little. Warren told a similar story to Carl Dickens’, sharing that Bobby Miller had it in for Todd Atkins. Jalen noticed Warren was much more nervous than his friend.
“Carl says you ran into a few guys who mentioned a plot against Atkins. Can you tell me about that?”
Warren paused at this information.
“Do you remember what they said?” Detective Peterson gave Officer Brown, who was with him, a knowing look.
Warren stuttered a bit. “I…I…I didn’t know them. They were Carl’s friends.”
Jalen nodded. “But what did they say?”
“Something about Bobby Miller having it in for Todd. Old Todd was a good guy. I can’t believe that Carl’s half-brother would do this to him.”
“Do you remember where you ran into these guys?”
Warren shook his head.
“Was it outside of the Tacklebox Dinner?”
Warren’s eyes lit up. “Yeah, that’s where it was.”
Detective Peterson smiled. “Great. If you can just give officer Brown here a description of the guys, I’d appreciate it.”
Jalen left and headed back to room three to ask Bobby Miller a few more questions. On his way, he met up with Detective Bly. “Brown is getting a description of the guys Dickens said gave him the info. I’d like you to compare them. I’m expecting them to be different.”
“Let’s hope Warren gives us more to go on. Dickens’ descriptions were pretty vague.”
Polly, the accelerant detection dog finds more clues.
Holloway joined them, giving them the news that Polly had identified Dickens and Warren’s clothing as having accelerant on them. “That dog is amazing!”
Jalen agreed. “I’ll hopefully have Bobby Miller’s clothes available for Rich and Polly to examine. In the meantime, set up two separate line ups, one with each suspect for Polly to examine. Anyplace she points, I want swabbed, and the samples taken to Tabatha.”
“Yes, sir.”
Back in interview room three, Detective Peterson joined Bobby Miller and his lawyer. He brought the lawyer up to speed and why it was important to not only have Miller’s clothes examined for accelerant, but also Miller’s person. “It’s my job to collect all the evidence and let the science determine if there are accelerants. I understand that Mr. Miller owns a filling station, and we will take that into consideration.”
His lawyer nodded.
“We also have a lead on the victim’s identity. We suspect the body to be that of a Mr. Todd Atkins.”
Miller wilted. “Oh, no.”
“You know him?”
Miller’s eyes were closed, and he shook his head.
“Todd worked for me at my gas station for several years, then he fell into company with by half-brother and several of his friends. He started coming in late, leaving early, missing work altogether.” Miller shook his head. “I pleaded with him to stay away from my brother and his friends. To seek help. But when I caught him stealing from the till, I had to let him go. It was a shame. He’d been a good employee. I can’t believe he’s dead.”
Detective Peterson gave Miller a few moments to digest the news of Atkins before asking if he’d filed charges against Atkins.
He shook his head. “No. I hoped showing him some kindness would turn him around. Maybe going to court and possibly jail would have woken him up and change his ways. Maybe even eventually saved his life.” He shook his head again.
“What about the home?” Jalen asked. “Why do you own it and not your brother, or at least both of you?”
“The home belonged to my father and mother, Carl’s mother.
They left it to me in their will. I was slowly fixing it up to sell. In fact, I was going to have the electricity turned on so I could install some new flooring that had just come in.” He shook his head again.
“My half-brother demanded that I allow him to live in the house, rent free. But I refused. Carl is lazy, irresponsible, a drunk, and I hate to admit it, but I think he’s involved with drugs. I didn’t want our parent’s memory to be tarnished,” Miller said. “Those people, the neighbors, I’m friends with many of them. They loved my parents. They don’t deserve to have the trouble my half-brother would bring in their neighborhood.”
Miller’s clothes were examined by Polly and found to have accelerant and sent to the forensics’ lab.
In each of the lineups, Rich brought Polly in, and she sniffed each person in the lineup. She sat by each of the three men. When Rich asked Polly, “Where is it?” She pointed with her nose to Carl Dickins’ hands and feet, to Roger Warren’s hands and left leg, and to Bobby Miller’s hands and right thigh.
Swabs from each of the men were taken and sent to Tabatha.
Miller was allowed to go home, but warned not to leave town. Dickins and Warren were booked on suspicion of arson and held without bail.
Detective Peterson got permission to hold Fire Investigator Rich Jamison and his arson dog over for one more day.
He obtained warrants to search all three suspects’ vehicles and homes.
With a search warrant in hand, Detective Peterson and several officers searched the residence and vehicles for all three suspects. Before they touched anything, Rich had Polly searched each vehicle, and the dog found not only evidence of accelerant in the back of Roger’s truck, but also gas cans. They also found a kilo of cocaine in Roger’s truck and several kilos in Carl’s car. They impounded both vehicles and handed them over to forensics for testing. Mr. Miller had three vehicles, a tow truck, a personal car, and a pickup, but there was no evidence of accelerant in or on any of his vehicles, except near the fuel tank.
Tabatha and her team were grateful for the involvement of accelerant detection canine Polly and her handler Rich Jamison. Rather than having an immense sum of evidence, they narrowed the evidence to what was specifically needed. This saved the investigators time and the city money.
After their visual examination under the microscope, Tabatha and her team ran other tests. Those tests included a color spot test, a thin layer chromatography, a high-performance liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. After several weeks, her testing revealed the use of gasoline and black powder as the fuel used to start the fire.
She then ran the same test on the clothing and accelerants found on the men. Though all three tested positive for gasoline, only Carl Dickens and Roger Warren had black powder, as did Roger Warren’s pickup.
DNA and dental records confirmed the deceased to be Todd Atkins.
Further investigation found witnesses who saw Dickens and Warren with the deceased the night of the fire. In addition, hair fibers in Warren’s pickup matched those of Todd Atkins and Carl Dickens, placing both men in association with Roger Warren.
Carl Dickens and Roger Warren were both charged with arson, murder and possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell.
After closing the case, Detective Peterson brought fresh chocolate chip cookies to Tabatha at the lab.
“What is this for?” She grinned.
“A thank you for suggesting we use accelerant detection canines to help find suspects.”
“Polly was pretty amazing, wasn’t she?”
Jalen lifted a cookie as a toast. “To Polly!”
Copyright 2023 Ida Smith. No part of this may be sold or copied without express permission from the author.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: I hope you’ve enjoyed this story. My goal was to show the amazing capabilities of accelerant detection canines. In addition, I wanted to show how police, fire, and forensic investors can use them in fighting crime. As I wrote this, the story took on more life than I had originally planned and I had to force myself to not go more in depth into the investigation aspect. Who knows, maybe one day, I’ll incorporate some of this knowledge into a larger scale story.
If you enjoyed this, please share the link with friends and family.
RESOURCES:
City of Portland, Oregon Fire & Rescue. “Arson Dog Facts” <https://www.portlandoregon.gov/fire/article/378417#:~:text=Arson%20dogs%20are%20more%20properly,although%20Labradors%20are%20especially%20common > (8 May 2023)
Wag! “Can Dogs Sense Fire?” <https://wagwalking.com/sense/can-dogs-sense-fire> (8 May 2023)
Inter Fire Online. “ATF Accelerant Detection Canine Program” by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Department of Justice <https://www.interfire.org/res_file/canine.asp> (8 May 2023)
Origin and Cause. “The Critical Role Accelerant Detection Dogs Play in Forensic Investigations” 18 January 2016, <https://origin-and-cause.com/articles/the-critical-role-accelerant-detection-dogs-play-in-forensic-investigations/> (8 May 2023)