Drew was the best detective this Sheriff's Department ever had.  He was so good, in fact, that criminal defense lawyers preferred not to have him testify for the prosecution.  Instead.  they'd enter a plea of "guilty" rather than risk a jury trial where the penalty might go higher.

One of Drew's important cases, in the eighties, went all the way up to the United States Supreme Court.  In that case, two men were convicted of breaking into a hardware store and stealing expensive power tools.

Supervisors from the uniformed patrol division called Drew out in the middle of the night to work that case.  The moment he arrived at the crime scene Drew knew what to do-by instinct.  The veteran sleuth tracked the burglars through the adjacent woods-through thickets and mud fields-until the cadre of deputies arrived at a ramshackled hut at the end of a dirt road.

Based on the law of "hot pursuit," Drew led his fellow officers up the front porch steps.  The command: "police, open up," was quickly followed by a kick from the foot of a burly deputy sheriff.

Inside, officers found two men hiding under bed covers.  One of the men's clothing was a dead giveaway-prison issue boots.  Detective Drew had skillfully followed the suspects' trail from the crime scene to the arrest scene, a distance of about three miles.

Lawyers appealed the conviction all the way up to the Supreme Court.  But by the time it was all over, the highest court in the land upheld Detective Drew's actions, and the conviction remained.

The arrest, made without a search warrant, was valid, the high court said, because Detective Drew was in "fresh pursuit" of the suspects, even though the posse was hours behind the burglars.

Drew is dead now.  He died a decade ago from a malignancy.  But in the minds of many law enforcement veterans who knew him, the mere mention of Drew's name causes a feeling of pride over deeds that may never again be equalled.  They know we're not likely to see another detective like him.  Drew was, indeed, a truly remarkable police bloodhound.