![state seizing icash state seizing icash](https://news-images.vice.com/images/articles/meta/2014/08/29/seized-islamic-state-laptop-reveals-research-into-weaponizing-the-bubonic-plague-1409338063.jpg)
It’s unclear if any charges have been or will be filed against Johnson. “Especially in the last year, I have taken a strong stand against human smuggling, drug smuggling, and illegal alien traffic in our community and will continue to do so,” Johnson wrote. After his offices were raided in December, Johnson said in a Facebook post that he didn’t know what prompted the investigation, had not been arrested and would continue to serve his constituents. In November, he told investigators money and cars are sometimes held as evidence for potential criminal cases, according to Guajardo. Johnson did not respond to specific questions Monday, stating that his and county attorneys are reviewing the newly released affidavit. Guajardo accused Johnson of felony-level theft by a public servant and abuse of official capacity, alleging the sheriff’s cash and vehicle seizures were in violation of the state’s relatively lenient civil asset forfeiture laws.
#STATE SEIZING ICASH DRIVER#
One sheriff's deputy told investigators that “seizing currency from undocumented immigrants and the driver has been standard operating procedure for as long as he has been employed by the Real County Sheriff’s Office,” Texas Ranger Ricardo Guajardo wrote in the warrant requests. The investigating Texas Ranger said Johnson admitted to regularly seizing money from undocumented immigrants during traffic stops, even if they were not accused of any state crime, before handing them over to United States Border Patrol agents.
![state seizing icash state seizing icash](https://yemenlg.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Transfeld-et-al-2020-Seizing-the-state-page-001.jpg)
Last month, investigators with the Texas Rangers and the Texas Attorney General’s Office raided four Real County Sheriff’s Office locations as part of an investigation into Sheriff Nathan Johnson, according to search warrants obtained this week by The Texas Tribune. If police cannot prove that the money is proceeds from a drug sale, or was going to be used to buy drugs, the money must be returned.Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.Ī rural sheriff near the Texas border is under criminal investigation for allegedly having his deputies illegally seize money and a truck from undocumented immigrants during traffic stops. If a judge says that the police seized the money in violation of your Fourth Amendment rights, the money must be returned. If you think cash was wrongfully taken from you, you have the right to challenge the seizure and forfeiture. If he finds a significant amount of cash, he will likely claim that it is linked to drug trafficking and seize it.Ĭash seizure and forfeiture is big business for Kansas police. Even if the driver says no, the officer may claim that he can lawfully search the car based on his observations. Regardless of the answer, he will ask for consent to search. He then asks if the vehicle contains any drugs, weapons, or cash. The officer stands close enough to say he can see signs of extreme nervousness. The officer asks questions designed to get inconsistent statements about travel plans.
#STATE SEIZING ICASH LICENSE#
The following is typical: Police pull over a car with out-of-state license plates. It does not take a lot for police to think they can lawfully seize cash. The Joseph Hollander & Craft defense attorneys in Kansas City, Lawrence, Overland Park, Topeka and Wichita, KS have successfully challenged multiple forfeiture actions when the form was signed. Even if the form was signed, do not give up.
![state seizing icash state seizing icash](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2018/11/03/us/03DC-DIPLO/merlin_146241894_04a5651d-a210-4078-8406-6cced7fbae7d-jumbo.jpg)
Police usually demand that the driver and passengers sign a form declaring it is not their money. The driver and passengers get a receipt for the cash that was seized and are sent on their way, usually without any criminal charges. Police often seize the cash even when the there is no hard evidence of a connection to drug trafficking. Police assume that a large amount of cash means that drugs are somehow involved. Nevertheless, police patrol the highways looking for cars with drugs or cash. Whether a person likes to keep his cash close at hand, is buying a car with cash, or is heading back from a winning Vegas trip, simply having cash is not a crime. There is nothing illegal about carrying cash, even in large amounts. Civil Forfeiture Can the police seize my cash and keep it even if I didn’t break the law?