Trempealeau sheriff’s K-9 Luke sniffs out three cases in one-day crackdown of about 40 traffic stops

GALESVILLE, Wis. (WKBT) — The Trempealeau County Sheriff’s Office arrested a La Crosse woman and two Minnesota men on drug and other charges during a one-day crackdown in the city of Galesville and the Town of Gale, during which K-9 Luke did yeoman work in sniffing out evidence.

Rach

Kayla M. Rach, 34, of La Crosse was arrested during one of about 40 traffic stops in the detail on April 23, according to a sheriff’s office news release. During the stop shortly before 3 p.m., K-9 Luke alerted to the presence of narcotics inside the vehicle.
Deputies searched the vehicle and found suspected methamphetamines, along with several drug paraphernalia items used to ingest methamphetamine.
Rach, a passenger, was booked into the Trempealeau County Jail on several drug charges, as well as a probation hold, the news release said.
At about 5:30 p.m., K-9 Luke alerted to the presence of narcotics in a car driven by Nicholas E. Zumberge, 33, of Colombia Heights, Minn. Deputies searching the vehicle found suspected marijuana and determined that Zumberge was under the influence of a restricted controlled substance.
Deputies jailed him on suspicion of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of a restricted controlled substance.

Hovis

Also that day, a male passenger in a vehicle stopped at about 10:40 p.m. gave deputies a false name. K-9 Luke alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle.
Deputies searching the vehicle found a Minnesota drivers license on the passenger with the name of David Joseph Hovis of Minneapolis. They determined that the 20-year-old Hovis had an outstanding arrest warrant out of Anoka, Minn., for an armed robbery.
Also during stop, the deputies located a large amount of suspected methamphetamine that they said Hovis had attempted to conceal on his body. Deputies booked in on several drug charges, along with the outstanding arrest warrant.
Although K-9 Luke had a banner day during the crackdown, K-9 Zara and K-9 Javy also were deployed during some of the stops. Luke has seniority in the K-9 Unit, having been with the department since July 2018, while Zara joined the unit in 2019, and Javy, in February.