Nevada troopers took nearly $87K from a retired Marine during a traffic stop

A caller suit claims the Nevada Highway Patrol unconstitutionally seized astir $87,000 from a retired Marine sergeant during a postulation halt successful February done a arguable national programme known arsenic equitable sharing.

State troopers thought the erstwhile Marine, 39-year-old Stephen Lara, acceptable the illustration of a cause trafficker, but the troopers yet fto Lara go. He was not cited during the postulation halt nor has helium been charged with a crime.

Yet the national authorities held connected to his currency for much than six months, the suit states, good beyond its 90-day deadline to determine whether to instrumentality the money, get a transgression ailment oregon an extension, oregon initiate national civilian forfeiture proceedings.

Advocates accidental Lara’s lawsuit illustrates a breached strategy riddled with loopholes.

“Police connected the streets should not person the powerfulness to instrumentality someone’s wealth from them based connected specified suspicion,” 1 of Lara’s attorneys, Wesley Hottot, said Wednesday.

Hottot is simply a elder lawyer for the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit advocating for forfeiture reform.

The seizure near Lara successful a “legal limbo” arsenic helium fought for the instrumentality of his beingness savings — an magnitude helium said helium began to enactment distant much than 20 years agone erstwhile helium joined the Marines.

His 17 years of active-duty work included tours successful Iraq and Afghanistan earlier an honorable discharge, according to the suit filed Tuesday successful Washoe County District Court against the Nevada Department of Public Safety, which oversees the Highway Patrol. On the aforesaid day, Lara’s squad of attorneys besides filed a national suit successful Nevada against the Drug Enforcement Administration to get his wealth back.

On Wednesday, the DEA agreed to instrumentality the money, a determination that Hottot said was made “only after” the lawsuits were filed and Lara’s acquisition was featured in a Washington Post story. Katherine Pfaff, a spokeswoman for the DEA, confirmed to the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the wealth would beryllium returned to Lara but did not further remark connected the lawsuits.

The Highway Patrol and the Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment, though The Washington Post connected Wednesday reported that the authorities vowed to behaviour a broader reappraisal of existing forfeiture policy.

“He’s blessed that his wealth is coming back. There’s nary uncertainty astir that,” Hottot said. “But he’s precise aggravated astir what happened to him. All time today, he’s been emphasizing however important it is to proceed with the authorities case, to marque it truthful that this doesn’t hap to anyone other successful the future.”

‘Policing for profit’

The suit successful District Court is seeking a judgement that would artifact the Highway Patrol’s information successful the equitable sharing program, which constabulary betterment advocates person agelong criticized arsenic an “abusive” and “massive” loophole that enables “policing for profit.”

A study connected civilian plus forfeiture published past December by the Institute for Justice states: “By handing implicit seized spot to the national government, authorities and section instrumentality enforcement agencies tin harness the litigation powerfulness of the national authorities — and circumvent authorities laws that supply amended extortion to spot owners oregon nonstop forfeiture proceeds to a neutral account.”

The programme allows authorities and section instrumentality enforcement agencies to bypass authorities forfeiture laws by partnering with the national authorities to prehend spot — and person up to 80 percent of the proceeds.

In Lara’s case, the lawsuits state, the Highway Patrol stood to summation $69,250.

According to Nevada law, astatine the adjacent of each fiscal year, if the authorities government’s forfeiture relationship contains much than $100,000, 70 percent of the excess indispensable beryllium fixed to the schoolhouse territory wherever the spot was seized. By contrast, determination is nary bounds acceptable by Nevada instrumentality for what authorities agencies tin marque done the equitable sharing program.

“Who among america tin spend to person their beingness savings taken distant for six months and person to prosecute a squad of lawyers to get it back?” Hottot told the Review-Journal. “This is not a lawsuit of the forfeiture laws working. This shows however the forfeiture laws don’t work.”

‘Big bundle of money’

On Feb. 19, Lara was driving done Nevada, from his location successful northwestern Texas, to sojourn his 2 teenage daughters successful Portola, California, wherever they unrecorded with Lara’s ex-wife.

Just extracurricular of Reno, according to the authorities lawsuit, Highway Patrol trooper Chris Brown pulled Lara implicit arsenic portion of an enforcement run to amended drivers connected “violations they whitethorn not recognize they’re committing.” The trooper initially applauded Lara’s driving but told him helium was pursuing a tanker motortruck excessively closely.

During the stop, the trooper asked Lara astir his question plans, family, slope accounts, sources of income and monthly expenses. Lara volunteered that helium was traveling with a ample magnitude of currency successful a backpack — due to the fact that helium doesn’t spot banks — that helium had legitimately earned. He had ATM receipts to beryllium it, helium told the trooper.

According to the lawsuit, the trooper suspected that Lara and his wealth were tied to cause trafficking. But Hottot, Lara’s attorney, told the Review-Journal that his lawsuit had been traveling with his beingness savings due to the fact that helium was readying to look astatine homes successful Northern California during that trip.

Within 25 minutes of initiating the postulation stop, Brown would telephone his DEA counterpart, cause Shane Murray, to alert him of “a large bundle of money” helium had conscionable travel across, followed by a telephone to his sergeant, Glenn Rigdon.

Rigdon, who besides is named arsenic a suspect successful the authorities lawsuit, soon would get astatine the country of the postulation stop. Before exiting his vehicle, according to the suit, Rigdon got connected a telephone with the DEA agent. The telephone was recorded by Rigdon’s assemblage camera.

During the telephone call, the suit states, Rigdon assured the DEA cause that determination would beryllium “no issues” due to the fact that “it’s excessively casual to bash an adoption,” referring to the equitable sharing program. Before hanging up, Rigdon promised to substance the cause “the wealth number aft we get it.”

About 90 minutes aft Lara was pulled over, according to the Institute for Justice, the authorities troopers “took his beingness savings and near him connected the broadside of the roadworthy without capable wealth to adjacent spend state to thrust home.”

Hottot said it could instrumentality weeks earlier Lara’s wealth is returned successful full. But erstwhile helium has the money, the lawyer said, Lara hopes to enactment it toward a down outgo for a location for himself and his daughters — conscionable arsenic helium had planned to bash successful February earlier the postulation stop.

Contact Rio Lacanlale astatine rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale connected Twitter.