Those who grew up with McGruff the Crime Dog are reexamining the crime-fighting mascot Friday as the actor who once portrayed him is sentenced to 16 years in prison. NBC News reports:
John Russell Morales, 41, an actor who once played the crime-fighting cartoon bloodhound, has been sentenced to nearly two decades behind bars after pleading guilty to possessing 1,000 marijuana plants and a cache of nearly 30 weapons — including a grenade launcher and thousands of ammunition rounds.
Morales was arrested in 2011 after Galveston, Texas, police and drug-sniffing dogs — real dogs, that is — stopped him for speeding, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Kusin, who later prosecuted the case.
Morales reportedly had a cache of 27 weapons and 9,000 rounds of ammo.
Editor’s note: The headline of the post has been changed to clarify that the actor was busted for pot possession, not ammo possession.
