Former ‘McGruff the Crime Dog’ draws 16-year term for drug, weapons offences in Texas

HOUSTON – A Houston man who once portrayed McGruff the Crime Dog has shown his commitment to crime fighting apparently wasn’t very deep.

John R. Morales was sentenced this week to 16 years and three months in federal prison on drug and weapons charges after police found more than 1,000 marijuana plants and 27 weapons, including grenade launchers, at two indoor farms.

Morales wore the McGruff costume for the Harris County Sheriff’s Association in the late 1990s.

A real crime dog — the drug-sniffing variety — detected pot plans in Morales’ trunk after he was stopped for speeding in Galveston in 2011. Authorities say officers found a clipboard with maps to the indoor farms.

Defence attorney Ken Fesler II says Morales entered the drug trade to help sick relatives.

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