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Greenville, Pitt County

Pitt County: Special prosecutor declines charges in K-9 Chilli death

New Hanover District Attorney Jason W. Smith, reviewing an SBI file, wrote Monday that Deputy Grant Foster will not face animal-cruelty charges after Chilli died in a hot car June 11. WITN, WCTI and The Daily Reflector independently covered the letter.

ConfirmedThe main facts are confirmed by official or first-hand sources.

By Alexandru Stanciu · Published

An East Carolina football game at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium

File photo: Airman 1st Class Rae Perry, USAF (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.

What we know

Confirmed

  • In a Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, letter to the media, District Attorney Jason W. Smith of Prosecutorial District 6 (New Hanover and Pender counties) said his office would not prosecute Deputy Grant Foster in the June 11, 2026, death of Pitt County Sheriff's Office K-9 Chilli, a trained explosives-detection dog.Confirmed by District Attorney Jason W. Smith letter to the media, Nov. 2, 2026, as hosted by WCTI and reported by WITN, WCTI and The Daily Reflector
  • Smith wrote that investigators determined Foster unintentionally turned off his vehicle while Chilli was inside, that there was no intent or malice to harm the dog, and that there was not enough evidence of the mental state needed for a criminal offense under North Carolina's animal-cruelty statute.Confirmed by District Attorney Jason W. Smith letter, Nov. 2, 2026, as reported by WITN, WCTI and The Daily Reflector
  • According to that letter, as summarized by WCTI and The Daily Reflector, Foster finished morning K-9 training with Chilli in Rocky Mount on June 11, picked up lunch, and arrived at the Pitt County Sheriff's Office at 1:24 p.m. Key-card and video records show he stayed inside until 5:11 p.m. When he returned to the vehicle, it was off and Chilli was dead in a portable kennel in the back seat.Confirmed by District Attorney Jason W. Smith letter, Nov. 2, 2026, as reported by WCTI and The Daily Reflector
  • Investigators believe Chilli died of heat-related injury. The day's temperature exceeded 90 degrees, the letter said. The sheriff's office cremated Chilli within hours, so no necropsy was performed; photographs showed no other injuries, Smith wrote.Confirmed by District Attorney Jason W. Smith letter, Nov. 2, 2026, as reported by WCTI, WITN and The Daily Reflector
  • Smith and the outlets covering him wrote that Chilli was used for special events and specific investigations rather than routine patrol, so she rarely came to the office with Foster, and he was not assigned a dedicated K-9 vehicle meant to stay running with a dog inside. Foster told investigators he meant to leave the car running and described turning it off as "muscle memory."Confirmed by District Attorney Jason W. Smith letter, Nov. 2, 2026, as reported by WCTI, WITN and The Daily Reflector
  • Pitt County District Attorney Faris Dixon had asked that a special prosecutor handle the matter. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation assisted and sent a final report in October, according to WITN and WCTI.Confirmed by WITN; WCTI, citing District Attorney Jason W. Smith / the special-prosecutor assignment
  • Smith reviewed the case under N.C. General Statute 14-360, which requires intentional or malicious conduct for animal-cruelty crimes, a higher bar than negligence alone, WCTI and The Daily Reflector reported from the letter.Confirmed by District Attorney Jason W. Smith letter, Nov. 2, 2026, as reported by WCTI and The Daily Reflector

Still unknown

  • Whether the Pitt County Sheriff's Office will take any separate internal discipline, beyond the criminal review
  • The estimated interior temperature of the vehicle on June 11

What this means for you

Public safety
This story is not an official or emergency notice. A declined prosecution is the special prosecutor's charging decision, not a civil judgment. If an animal is in immediate danger, call 911.

What happened

In Pitt County, a special prosecutor says he will not charge the handler of K-9 Chilli after the explosives-detection dog died in a turned-off car on June 11, 2026.

District Attorney Jason W. Smith of Prosecutorial District 6, which covers New Hanover and Pender counties, put that decision in a Monday, Nov. 2, letter to the media. WITN, WCTI and The Daily Reflector each covered the letter. Pitt County District Attorney Faris Dixon had asked that someone outside the local office handle the review, and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation assisted, WITN and WCTI wrote.

Smith wrote that Deputy Grant Foster unintentionally turned the vehicle off while Chilli was inside, that the review found neither intent nor malice to harm the dog, and that the evidence did not show the mental state needed for a crime under the state's animal-cruelty law. "For that reason, the State declines to prosecute this matter," he wrote, as quoted by WCTI.

What the letter describes

According to that letter, as those three outlets summarized it, Foster finished morning training with Chilli in Rocky Mount, picked up lunch and arrived at the Pitt County Sheriff's Office at 1:24 p.m. Records show he stayed inside until 5:11 p.m. When he came back to the car, it was off and Chilli was dead in a portable kennel in the back seat.

Investigators believe she died of heat-related injury. The letter put the outdoor temperature that day above 90 degrees. Agency staff cremated Chilli within hours, so a necropsy was not performed; photographs showed no other injuries, Smith wrote.

Chilli was used for special events and specific investigations rather than everyday patrol, so she rarely rode to the office with Foster, and he did not have a dedicated K-9 vehicle built to stay running with a dog inside. Foster told investigators he meant to leave the car running and described switching it off as "muscle memory."

Smith reviewed the file under N.C. General Statute 14-360. Coverage of his letter says that statute requires intentional or malicious conduct, not negligence alone.

What this is not

A declined prosecution is a charging decision. It is not a civil judgment, and this page does not say whether Pitt County will take any separate personnel step. The estimated temperature inside the car that afternoon has not been published in the accounts we opened.

This story is not an official or emergency notice. If an animal is in immediate danger, call 911.

Related coverage

Photos

Text-only. No outlet or agency photos are used here.

Why it matters

A Pitt County explosives-detection dog died after hours in a turned-off car on a 90-degree day, and a special prosecutor has now closed the criminal file without charges. Readers need what that letter said, and that a declined prosecution is not the same as a finding that nothing went wrong operationally.

Updates

  1. Nov 3, 2026, 2:15 PM

    First file from District Attorney Jason W. Smith's Nov. 2 letter, matched by WITN, WCTI and The Daily Reflector. No criminal charges against Deputy Grant Foster in K-9 Chilli's June 11 death.

Sources

  1. Letter to the Media — Death of Pitt County Sheriff's Office K-9 Chilli (District Attorney Jason W. Smith, Prosecutorial District 6, Nov. 2, 2026 PDF hosted by WCTI: review of June 11, 2026, death completed; Deputy Grant Foster; declines prosecution; unintentional vehicle shutoff; no intent or malice; insufficient mens rea under N.C.G.S. 14-360; Rocky Mount training, 1:24 p.m. arrival, inside until about 5:11 p.m.; heat-related injury; cremation without necropsy; special-events K-9, no dedicated K-9 vehicle; muscle-memory description. Text-only; no letterhead image used as a story photo.)

    Official sourcePublished by District Attorney Jason W. Smith, Prosecutorial District 6 · Checked Nov 3, 2026, 2:10 PM

  2. No criminal charges in death of Pitt County Sheriff's Office K-9 Chilli, DA says (WCTI / News 12, Nov. 2, 2026, 3:07 p.m.: letter released Monday; Foster unintentionally turned vehicle off; heat-related injuries; 1:24 p.m. to 5:11 p.m. timeline; Rocky Mount training; portable kennel; muscle memory; SBI final report in October; quotes from Smith on intent, malice and mens rea; State declines to prosecute. Text-only; no WCTI photos used.)

    Published by WCTI · Checked Nov 3, 2026, 2:10 PM

  3. DA: No prosecution in Pitt County K9 Chilli death investigation (WITN, published Nov. 2, 2026, 3:25 p.m. EST: Faris Dixon asked Jason Smith to handle the investigation; SBI assisted; no intent or malice by Foster; insufficient mental status for a crime; SBI final report in October; June 11, car turned off, temperatures over 90; special-investigations K-9; Rocky Mount training, back just before 1:30 p.m., left building around 5:12 p.m.; cremated within hours, no necropsy; heat injury; muscle-memory shutoff; statute quotes. Text-only; no WITN photos used.)

    Published by WITN · Checked Nov 3, 2026, 2:10 PM

  4. Prosecutors will not file charges against deputy in Chilli case (The Daily Reflector, Ginger Livingston, Nov. 2, 2026: Smith concludes insufficient evidence after SBI review; names Grant Foster; 1:24 p.m. arrival, inside until 5:11 p.m.; muscle memory; heat injury; cremation without necropsy; special-events K-9 without dedicated vehicle; N.C.G.S. 14-360 intent standard; Smith quotes on no intent or malice. Earlier context on the special-prosecutor assignment and sheriff statements kept separate. Text-only; no Reflector or sheriff photos used.)

    Published by The Daily Reflector · Checked Nov 3, 2026, 2:10 PM

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