Handler – First Sergeant Jeremy Yela
Orange County Sheriff announces in-service death of K-9
Orange County Sheriff Paul Arteta announced the in-service death of K-9 Justus, a German Shepherd, who passed away as a result of medical complications at the age of 10. Justus was actively working at the time of his death and was handled by First Sergeant Jeremy Yela.Justus was born in the Czech Republic and was trained in evidence and article recovery, tracking, building searches, criminal apprehension, and as a narcotics detector dog. During his career, Justus located both criminals and lost individuals, as well as large amounts of narcotics. During one deployment, Justus located 10 kilos of cocaine worth $10 million dollars.Justus began his service with the Sheriffs Office at the age of 15 months and lived with Yela and his family.