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Cash Seized from Kenitta Pittman and Antonio Johnson in Ballard County, KY

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A man and a woman were arrested on August 19th, 2019 in Ballard County, Kentucky after a traffic stop. Authorities from Cape Girardeau reported that the man, Antonio Johnson, and the woman, Kenitta Pittman were traveling at high speed. It isn’t known if they have hired a lawyer yet.

Both Johnson and Pittman belong to the Cape Girardeau area. Their vehicle was approached by authorities paroling over Highway 286. 

While approaching the vehicle, officials stated they smelled marijuana. Both Johnson and Pittman told the officials they could freely search the vehicle. 

Upon inspection, deputies at the scene found an unloaded 380 calibre handgun and $4,792 cash within a case. The firearm was unregistered, making it a Class C felony considering Johnson’s criminal history. 

Johnson, an ex-convict, was consequently arrested for speeding 15 over the limit, failing to turn on his headlights, and possessing a firearm. Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, when it is a handgun, is a Class C felony and punishable by five to ten years in prison and a fine between $1000-$10,000 in the state of Kentucky. 

Upon searching her person while placing her under arrest, officials found that Pittman was hiding marijuana under her clothes. Pittman was then charged with possession of marijuana, tampering with evidence, and drug paraphernalia. She is currently being detained at the Ballard County Detention Center. 

Unlike possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, drug paraphernalia is a Class A misdemeanor in the state of Kentucky. Pittman, if found guilty, faces up to one year of jail time as well as a $500 fine. Her charge of possession may also result in a $250 fine and an additional 45 days in prison.  

Along with the handgun and the money, the officials also confiscated three cellphones. The vehicle was also impounded as evidence of the crime. Officials suspect all items are evidence of illicit drug dealing and use, although there is no indication that police found amounts of drugs that normally indicate drug sales. It is not known where the arrested parties say they got the cash. 

Only a few days before this event, there was another arrest relating to drug paraphernalia. Another man and woman were caught and arrested for drug paraphernalia in Ballard County as they were leaving a home. 

James Ratliff and Destiny Carter were arrested by officials on August 12th, 2019. Ratcliff was arrested for possessing methamphetamine and other narcotics on his person. 

Ratcliff attempted to conceal the drugs and resist arrest, but he was caught by officials after a short chase. Therefore, he was also charged with resisting arrest, tampering with evidence, and possession of controlled substances. 

Carter, aged 25, already had a warrant for her arrest in McCracken County. Her charges include failure to appear on a warrant. She and Ratcliff were seen leaving LaCenter on East 2nd Street. 

There have been several drug raids in other states as well in the past few years, including Florida and California.   

If you or anyone you know is involved in drug paraphernalia (possession or dealing) or if you’ve been accused of drug paraphernalia (possession or dealing), you should hire a lawyer. Contact us today to take the first step towards the best possible legal outcome for you. 

Source:20.8.19 2 arrested, more than $4,000 cash seized during traffic stop.pdf

Idaho State Police Seize Hemp Worth $1.3 Million Using Civil Asset Forfeiture

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rope-1149730_1920-300x200In January, Denis Palamarchuk, age 36, was driving a semitruck when he was pulled over by police. The truck contained nearly 7,000 pounds of hemp. Law enforcement arrested Palamarchuk on a drug trafficking charge and also seized both the hemp and the truck using civil asset forfeiture.

While law enforcement officers believed the material in the truck to be marijuana, Palamarchuk attempted to explain that it was, in fact, industrial hemp. Although cannabis and hemp are closely related plants, hemp contains only a small amount of the psychoactive agent which makes cannabis so potent. Industrial hemp is used in a wide variety of products, including foods, beauty products, and rope. In December 2018, President Trump signed the Farm Bill which made hemp legal federally.

Big Sky Scientific—the company Palamarchuk was working for—were able to prove the product in the truck was indeed hemp. This was later confirmed by tests commissioned by the Idaho State Police.

Law enforcement officers seized the truck and hemp using a process known as civil asset forfeiture. This is where police may take possession of an individual’s property if it is suspected of involvement in a crime. In Idaho, the standard of proof for civil forfeitures is low, only requiring law enforcement show the property was involved in a crime by “a preponderance of the evidence.” This is far short of the “beyond a reasonable doubt” required in criminal cases. Additionally, no criminal conviction is required for police to permanently seize property.

Since police in Idaho can receive up to 100 percent of the proceeds of civil asset forfeiture, there is an incentive for law enforcement to conduct seizure. This is known as “policing for profit” by critics of civil forfeiture. Additionally, law enforcement agencies in the state are not required to report forfeitures, so there is little oversight on the process.

While hemp is now legal at a federal level, it is still banned in Idaho. Attempts by the Idaho legislature to legalize year have failed although a bill which would offer protections to out-of-state truckers transporting industrial hemp through the state is still working its way through the legislature.

The current situation, where Idaho state law is at variance with federal law, “creates a big problem right now because now we have this split,” explained Ian Stewart of the Wilson Elser Cannabis Law practice based in Los Angeles.

In March, Chief Magistrate Judge Ronald Bush of the U.S District Court for Idaho handed down a decision saying that the hemp found in the truck was not protected by federal law as it had not been grown in compliance with the 2018 Farm Bill. As such, the state would be allowed to keep both the hemp and truck. Big Sky Scientific’s lawyer has appealed this decision, and it will be heard by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in due course.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the excessive fines clause of the Constitution applied at the state level. In this particular case, it could be argued that the seizure not only of a semitruck but also of $1.3 million of a product that is legal in all the states bordering Idaho may constitute an excessive fine. In addition to the civil asset forfeiture procedure, Palamarchuk is facing five years in prison for trafficking drugs.

“There should be some mitigation here. This is not drug running in the classical sense,” said Stewart. “Even the trial judge… seemed to sympathize, frankly, with the plight of Big Sky [Scientific], but more importantly, with the driver.”

Civil Asset Forfeiture Attorney

If your lawful property has been seized, then you should hire a lawyer. Contact us to set up a free initial consultation and work with one of Florida’s most experienced civil forfeiture defense attorneys.

Source

2019-02-13 ISP Files to Seize, Sell Truck in Hemp Case, as U.S. Supreme Court Frowns on Practice

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to Surge Agent Hires

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agents-300x169One of President Donald Trump’s often-cited campaign promises during last year’s election was the need to increase security at the border. So far in 2017, he seems to be delivering on that promise in one of the larger expenditures in his administration.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been mandated to hire an additional 5,000 agents to help secure the U.S.-Mexico border. CBP currently has over 60,000 employees who are responsible for screening cargo and individuals at U.S. borders, and seizes nearly 6 tons of illicit drugs per day.

Taken from the CBP website, the agency describes itself as “America’s frontline,” but that frontline has been losing more members than it hires in recent years. The 5,000 agent surge comes at a time when CBP is struggling to meet the minimum staffing levels mandated by Congress. From 2013 to 2016, an average of 523 agents were hired, while 904 left the agency. Since the problem of retention has gotten out of hand for CBP, the agency has outsourced the hiring of the agents to a private company, Accenture. This stems from the Jan. 25th executive order signed by President Trump, in which he ordered the surge in CBP agents.

Accenture, a professional services corporation with $35 billion in revenues in 2017, was awarded a $297 million contract to help recruit and hire new agents and other workers in order to maintain the mandated staffing minimums and potentially help increase border security. The 5-year contract will see to the hiring of 5,000 agents, 2,000 customs officers, and 500 agents for the Office of Air and Marine Operations.

CBP released a statement trying to alleviate some of the skepticism about the decision to hire Accenture and to provide an explanation for the need for the new initiative. It said that several factors, including “changing generational values, the state-wide legalization of marijuana and a growing distrust of law enforcement” have made hiring more difficult. “Not unlike other major companies and organizations, we are expanding our recruiting and hiring efforts to find better, more effective ways to recruit, hire and retain frontline personnel,” CBP added.

Skeptics, however, worry about the cost and the need for such a measure. “They’re spending almost $40,000 per hire, said Alex Nowrasteh, an analyst at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think thank in Washington, D.C. Assuming the contract is fully paid and lasts the full five years, CBP will have paid $39,600 per hire, which is just below the $39,738 starting pay for a customs officer. CBP, however, has said that the cost estimate are erroneous. Nowrasteh also questions the need for the mandated minimum, as there were 1.2 million apprehensions of unauthorized immigrants in 2001, and 310,000 this year, making 2017 the lowest level of apprehensions in 46 years. The flow and seizure of illicit drugs across the border, however, has ebbed and flowed, indicating an unpredictability that remains a strong case for proponents of the hiring surge.

Civil Asset Forfeiture Attorney

If your lawful property has been seized, then you should hire a lawyer. Contact us to set up a free initial consultation and work with one of Florida’s most experienced civil forfeiture defense attorneys.

Source:

CBP has to hire 5,000 new Border Patrol agents. It’s paying a private company $297 million to help.

$300 Million in Drugs Seized, Dropped Off in Port Everglades

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spencer-300x200As part of a series of patrols fighting transnational organized crime operations around Mexico and South America, the US Coast Guard seized over $300 million worth in cocaine and heroin. The drugs were collected by multiple Coast Guard cutters patrolling the waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

The drugs were offloaded on Tuesday, November 14th as the US Coast Guard Cutter Spencer returned from its 3-month voyage to the Pacific.

Seven separate US Coast Guard patrols contributed to the massive haul of drugs interdicted from fourteen different drug smuggling vessels:

  • Coast Guard Cutter (CGC) Spencer was responsible for two cases, seizing about 3,000 kg of cocaine.
  • CGC Thetis was responsible for one case, seizing about 1,000 kg of cocaine.
  • CGC Vigorous was responsible for one case, seizing about 1,150 kg of cocaine.
  • CGC Aspen was responsible for one case, seizing about 100 kg of cocaine.
  • CGC Alert was responsible for six cases, seizing about 3,300 kg of cocaine and 23 kg of heroin.
  • CGC James was responsible for two cases, seizing about 700 kg of cocaine.
  • CGC Steadfast was responsible for one case, seizing about 950 kg of cocaine.

In the end, it was the Boston-based CGC Spencer that collected the drugs from the different cutters and hauled them off to Port Everglades. Cdr. John Mctamney, commanding officer of the CGC Spencer, spoke about the importance of the effort:

“This offload today is not just the result of one unit, but the combined efforts of multiple Coast Guard cutters, aircraft and support, as well as that of our partners and allied men and women who continue to work day and night to stop these criminal organizations from profiting off transnational crime and smuggling. While this offload represents approximately 10 tons of illicit drugs that will never hit our streets, it also represents a significant depletion to the cash flow to these criminal organizations.”

According to Coast Guard officials, the US and its allies have increased their presence in the Eastern Pacific Ocean as well as in the Caribbean Basin, which are major drug transit zones for cartels operating out of Central and South American countries.

Cdr. Mctamney also spoke about the difficulties of moving against drug smugglers at sea, saying that “we’re launching the helicopter, we’re launching small boats from the cutter and we’re maneuvering towards a vessel which is typically not lit at all with the required navigation lights and is trying to evade us at a high rate of speed.”

The CGC Spencer stayed busy in other ways during its 90-day voyage before returning its 100-person crew (13 officers and 87 enlisted personnel) to Boston, the Spencer’s home base. It also participated in the 2017 Arctic Guardian Search and Rescue (SAR) Exercise in Reyjkavik, Iceland. Eight Arctic nations also participated in the exercises to hone best practices for potential multi-national search and rescue responses in the Arctic region.

Civil Asset Forfeiture Attorney

If your lawful property has been seized, then you should hire a lawyer. Contact us to set up a free initial consultation and work with one of Florida’s most experienced civil forfeiture defense attorneys.

Sources:

Coast Guard offloads about $300 million worth of cocaine, heroin in Port Everglades

USCG Cutter Spencer return to Boston following 3-month narcotic patrol

Major Marijuana Seizures Along US-Mexico Border

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5-MARIJUANA-BACKPACKS-004-300x194United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents made two major seizures involving the smuggling of marijuana into the United States.

The two separate events resulted in nearly 600 pounds of marijuana being seized, as well as the vehicles the drugs were being transported in. All of the individuals involved were arrested and turned over to the DEA.

The first incident took place in Douglas, Arizona late in the evening this past Monday. At a routine border stop, CBP officers referred a Toyota SUV driven by a 24-year-old man for secondary inspection. Upon the more intensive inspection, a CBP narcotics canine sniffed out multiple packages of marijuana hidden under the back seats of the vehicle’s rear cargo area.

The marijuana recovered from the vehicle weighed in at just over 350 pounds, giving it an estimated street value of more than $178,000. In addition to the drugs, the vehicle driven by the Mexican national was also seized. The man himself was turned over to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

The second incident happened last Thursday during a traffic stop in Midland, Texas. The Midland Border Patrol stopped two suspicious vehicles travelling eastbound on a Texas interstate just after midnight, one a sedan and one an SUV. The vehicles were filled to the brim with people and cargo, and upon first glance at the stopped vehicles, officers noticed what appeared to be large bundles filling the back of the SUV in addition to the large number of vehicle occupants.

Several people from the SUV bailed out of the vehicle when first stopped, attempting to “tuck and roll” and escape on foot. Midland Border Patrol agents pursued and apprehended all six people who fled on foot.

Those apprehended from the SUV were Mexican nationals who had come to the United States illegally. The large bundles seen upon the initial stop turned out to be five large backpacks containing nearly 240 pounds of marijuana.

The sedan, on the other hand, yielded to law enforcement immediately and none of the passengers attempted to flee. Of the three individuals in the sedan, one was a Mexican national who had come to the United States legally, and the other two were United States citizens from Odessa, Texas. All individuals in the sedan and the SUV were suspected to be involved in the attempt to smuggle the marijuana, and all were arrested, with the marijuana and vehicles being seized by the DEA.

“The Big Bend Sector relies on its stations in Midland, Fort Stockton, Lubbock and Amarillo to respond to calls for assistance from other agencies as well as to patrol the routes smugglers take as they leave the US/Mexico border. This case is a great example of experienced agents disrupting organized smugglers who were attempting to bring narcotics into one of our major cities within the Big Bend Sector’s area of responsibility,” said Acting Chief Patrol Agent, Victor M. Velazquez.

Civil Asset Forfeiture Attorney

If your lawful property has been seized, then you should hire a lawyer. Contact us to set up a free initial consultation and work with one of Florida’s most experienced civil forfeiture defense attorneys.

Sources:

Midland Border Patrol Agents Seize Marijuana

Douglas CBP Officers Stop SUV Loaded with Marijuana