Mr. C was followed for approximately 5 to 10 miles by a DPS Officer on the freeway when he was pulled over for allegedly following an RV too closely. When stopped, he was immediately asked if there were any drugs, guns, or money in his car. Mr. C was an African-American, and immediately became suspicious of the Officer. The Officer then had a drug sniffing dog walk around the car which alerted to the presence of drugs.
Once the vehicle was searched, no drugs or drug paraphernalia was found in the car. However, Mr. C. was asked about money and he said there was a bag with $164,000 in cash inside of his car. He explained to the Officer that that money was going to be used to build a house for his mother. When asked about ledgers in the car, he explained that those had to do with contractors and who were to be paid pertaining to the building of the house. Mr. C was not from Arizona, however, he was arriving in Arizona in order to meet with the people who were going to be building the house. He and his passenger were arrested and Mr. C was charged with three Class 3 felonies: Money Laundering, Illegal Control of an Enterprise (State RICO), and Conspiracy.
After we filed our Notice of Appearance, we then began speaking to the Prosecutor prior to the Preliminary Hearing. The Prosecutor ultimately agreed that there was not enough evidence to proceed with the charges and they were all dismissed prior to the Status Conference/Preliminary Hearing. Approximately 4 months later, the Attorney General’s Office filed a Notice of Forfeiture for the $164,000. After a review of the 844-page police report, Mr. C decided he did not wish to contest the Forfeiture.
After working with the AG for several months, she decided not to pursue criminal charges and instead proceed only by way of uncontested Forfeiture.
