John Preston

John Preston may refer to:

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John Preston (dog handler)

John Preston (died 2008) was a dog handler and former state trooper from Pennsylvania who testified for the prosecution in criminal cases across the country in the early 1980s. Preston claimed that his dog (named Harass II or Harrass 2) could perform feats of forensic detection far beyond the abilities of other investigative dogs.

As an expert, Preston was paid $300 per day; in his previous job as a Pennsylvania state trooper, he was paid $20,000 per year.Brevard County, Florida, paid Preston $37,429 in the first half of 1984 alone.

Claimed abilities of his dog

Preston claimed that his dog could smell human traces years or months after a suspect walked over the ground, on heavily trafficked streets, or both. He claimed that his dog could smell underwater, and, in a case against a man who was eventually freed on DNA evidence, Preston claimed that his dog could track a human scent even after hurricanes. Tracking dog experts say these feats are impossible.

Preston's dog would sometimes urinate on the evidence while Preston claimed it was working.

John Preston (Alderman)

Alderman John Preston of Tara, served as Mayor of Dublin in 1654. He was born in Tara, Ardsallagh, Co. Meath, in 1611 the son of Hugh Preston, of Bolton, Lancaster, the grandson of Jenico Preston Viscount Gormanston.

He married Mary Morris(1615-1654) on 21 May 1643 at Bolton, Lancashire, England, with whom he had three children, Mary, Phineas, and Samuel. Following the death his wife, he remarried Katherine Ashburnham the widow of Sir John Sherlock. He married for a third time another widow, Anne Tighe (1655-1700) the daughter of Alderman Richard Tighe (who also served as Mayor of Dublin), who bore him a son also called John Preston, who served as MP in the Irish Parliament for County Meath.

He was elected alderman on Dublin Corporation in 1650 and served as Mayor of Dublin in 1654 and also served as MP for Navan in 1661. He founded the Preston Schools in Navan, Co. Meath and Ballyroan, Co. Laois in 1686. He died on 13 July 1686.

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