The town of Wagener I, the Council and especially our citizens have grown weary and “fed up” with burglaries and drug related/induced crime in our community for the past few months. Though it has taken time and an incredible amount of work by officers from multiple law enforcement agencies, we are seeing positive results.

Recent and significant arrests are the culmination of much planning, preparation and incredible patience of all officers involved. During the week of Jan 14, three felony arrests were made within a 72-hour time period. Of the five persons taken into custody, three were charged with home invasion, one for possession/distribution of controlled substances and one for a late-night-burglary.

The home invasion too place outside of the Wagener town limits but the suspects were quickly apprehended in Wagener following a smoothly executed, cooperative effort by the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office and the Wagener Police Department and coordinated flawlessly by the ACSO Dispatch services.

The drug charges resulted from a routine traffic stop by two officers of the Wagener Police with a citation issued. The charges were elevated to felony drug possession following a quick vehicle walk around by K-9 Officer Xantos who indicated the need to search the vehicle.

Last, but certainly not least, a homeowner called 911 after realizing an unwelcomed “midnight madness” shopper had entered his garage/storage building after hours. The homeowner confronted the suspect with a good flashlight and better weapon and could have easily “dispatched” his guest to his appropriate destination; however, he reacted with mercy by firing only a warning shot.

The Wagener Police Department has a new officer patrolling the streets – on four legs.
Xantos, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois, was obtained by the town from the Columbia Police Department and is Wagener’s first K-9 unit, according to Officer Jeremy Hill, who is Xantos’ handler.
Hill spent eight weeks in school to learn how to be a handler and to be able to train other officers in handling. Xantos, he said, had already been through training with the Columbia department.
“For reasons specific to them, they requested another dog. He just didn’t fit that need,” Hill said.
According to Mayor Michael Miller, Xantos was brought to the United States from Holland, where many police dogs are bred. He is the same breed as Cairo, the dog that served on the Navy SEALs mission that killed Osama Bin Laden.
“A lot of times, you’ll hear people refer to them as a souped-up German Shepherd,” Chief Jeff Key said. “Supposedly, they see a little better, they smell a little better, they run a little faster.”
“The dog can give you probable cause to get to places that you couldn’t get without it,” he said. "You stop a car for a traffic violation, and things just don’t seem right. You walk the dog around the car; he alerts on the vehicle – that gives you probable cause to investigate further.”
Hill said the training process for a dog and its handler is thorough. It can take from two weeks to a few months to train a dog, depending on what it is being trained in.
Hill said a bond between him and Xantos also was formed during training.