Caleb Flynn Trial Day 3: ATF K9 Found WHAT Outside The House?

Tony Brueski (0:00)

You're listening to continuing coverage in the trial of Caleb Flynn from the Hidden Killers podcast and True Crime Today. Now, back to the courtroom.

Prosecutor (1:10)

Please have a seat.

Judge (1:11)

Welcome back. Everyone, please turn off their phones completely off.

Mr. Johnson, would you like to follow your next witness?

Prosecutor (1:33)

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge (1:44)

Mr. McMullen, if you'd like to come up to the witness stand. You've raised your right hand, Mrs. Ossendorf, we'll swear you in.

David McMullen (2:01)

Thank you.

Judge (2:02)

Mr. Joseph, you may fire with Mr. McMullen.

Prosecutor (2:06)

Your Honor, sir, would you please state your name and spell your birth and last name to our record?

David McMullen (2:10)

Yes, my name is David McMullen, M-C-M-U-L-L-E-A.

Prosecutor (2:15)

And where are you currently employed?

David McMullen (2:16)

I work for the Bureau of Alcohol, Staple, Firearms and Explosives. I'm assigned as a Special Agent. My full-time assignment is currently a Special Agent K9 Handler.

Prosecutor (2:25)

And also known as ACI?

David McMullen (2:29)

Yes.

Prosecutor (2:31)

You said you're a certified K9 Handler?

David McMullen (2:34)

Yes.

Prosecutor (2:34)

What's the name of your K9 partner?

David McMullen (2:36)

Her name is Hilton.

Prosecutor (2:37)

And what is Hilton trained to perform?

David McMullen (2:41)

She's an explosive detection K9, so she's a bomb dog. Specifically, most of the searches we do, she finds firearms and firearms-related events.

Prosecutor (2:50)

And how long have you worked with K9 Hilton?

David McMullen (2:52)

Approximately five years.

Prosecutor (2:54)

And what certifications do... What's the process for getting certified as a dog in a K9 Handler?

David McMullen (3:01)

We go through a three-month Academy, which is seven days a week, at the National K9 Division for ATF, which is in front of Arrell, Virginia. At the end of that Academy, we go through two days of testing for certification.

Prosecutor (3:15)

And does K9 Hilton know those certifications as well?

David McMullen (3:18)

She does. She also gets them yearly, when we certify her early.

Prosecutor (3:21)

And you did that with her? Yes.

And were you calling this an investigation on February 17th of 2026? Yes, I was. And who contacted you?

David McMullen (3:32)

An FBI task force officer.

Prosecutor (3:35)

And did you respond to that, for that investigation?

David McMullen (3:40)

I did.

Prosecutor (3:41)

Then where did you first respond?

David McMullen (3:42)

I went to the police department in Tip City with a debriefing.

Prosecutor (3:47)

And did you later respond to that at the K9 Hilton court?

David McMullen (3:50)

Yes.

Prosecutor (3:50)

And were you asked, in which areas were you asked to search?

David McMullen (3:55)

I was asked to search the curbs of the outside of the residence and then the surrounding area in case anyone had fled and discarded the gun. So I started, I deployed here, searching around the house, the house itself, and then there was a couple of buildings. I placed that in a shed in the backyard.

Prosecutor (4:12)

Can you talk about the process of you and your K9 searching for anything as far as the procedure?

David McMullen (4:22)

Yeah, basically, so my mom is a food reward. So if we're going to get fed, she has to find evidence. So we train every day. So I wear a food pouch. So that's a signal of her when I put my food pouch on if we're working, we're looking for explosives.

And then she's specially trained. Her title is actually a SEAT K9, which is Search Enhanced Evidence K9. So she's trained to work off lead really well, where I can send her targets like 100 yards away and use a whistle hang dancer to search different areas. So I put the food pouch on, I took the leash off, and she knew we were ready to work. And then I just deployed her off lead searching around the house, the backyard.

I follow her nose, I work in the wind, things to give her an advantage. And I also look for areas, based on my experience, where something may be hit or where I've found things before.

Prosecutor (5:08)

You mentioned previously the cartilage.

David McMullen (5:11)

Yes, sir.

Prosecutor (5:11)

What do you mean by that?

David McMullen (5:12)

That's just the area surrounding the home. So the front yard, the side yard, the backyard, all around the house.

Prosecutor (5:20)

And again, you specifically discussed everywhere your K9 was searching?

David McMullen (5:25)

Yeah. So we did the yard, and then I did, there was a wood line between the house and a farm field. So I really thoroughly searched that wood line.

And at that point, she was pretty exhausted, so I had to break her. And then, after that, I talked to investigators, and they also wanted me to search. There was a path, like a walking path, that led from the community to Kessler-Kalswell Road, which is where the high school is at. So I searched very thoroughly again, both. It was wooded, so both sides of that path, in case someone had taken out that way and discarded the gun.