Taking the profit out of drug crime

Editor's note: This is the first in a three-part series that explores drug asset seizure and civil forfeiture: tools used by law enforcement agencies to recover the costs of fighting and preventing drug crimes.

COEUR d'ALENE - When Jared Gray was stopped by Kootenai County sheriff's deputies in 2012, the Oregon resident told them he was driving eastbound on Interstate 90 to attend his step-cousin's graduation party in Montana.

But he didn't bring a present.

The deputies reported that Gray, 22, was pulled over, for two reasons - the windows on his 2001 GMC Denali appeared "very dark" and the officers observed the vehicle drive completely into the shoulder of the highway.

Deputy Joel Gorham wrote that Gray was "very understanding" about why the officers pulled him over.

But he didn't bring a present.

"Gray's reason for the trip made little to no sense to me, who does not take a graduation present to a graduation party?" Gorham wrote.

Gray's hand trembled as he handed his license, registration and insurance to the deputy. After observing "very little luggage" in the SUV and a large Yakima luggage carrier attached to the roof, Gorham signaled to his partner to call for the department's K-9 unit.

There wasn't a present.

Instead, the deputies found two large duffel bags in the luggage carrier containing roughly 25 pounds of marijuana packaged in heat-sealed bags and $2,515 in U.S. currency.

Gray was arrested and charged with two counts of felony possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.

Two court cases resulted from Gray's arrest - one based on the criminal charges and the other, a civil case to determine whether or not the county could keep the seized property.

Civil forfeiture

Kootenai County Sheriff Ben Wolfinger said his office "proactively" goes after people trafficking in large amounts of illegal substances and prefers enforcing the law against those individuals rather than the users.

"The laws are set up that we can hurt those people two ways: you take them to jail and seize their drugs, which takes them out of business, or you can seize their assets," Wolfinger said. "We've done both fairly successfully and we continue to do that."

Under Idaho statute, law enforcement agencies have the ability to seize assets potentially used in drug trafficking or manufacture. These assets range from cash and vehicles to equipment used to cultivate and create the drugs themselves.

Once assets are seized, the case is forwarded to the civil division of the county prosecutor's office.

"We (then) file a civil complaint and get the interested parties served to give them an opportunity to contest the case if they want to," Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh said.

If the civil case is successful, both the investigating agency and the prosecutor's office receive portions of the assets seized.

Law enforcement agencies are able to use these funds for, according to Wolfinger, anything in the "drug enforcement nexus." This includes training, new equipment, banquets and contributions to organizations such as the Idaho Meth Foundation.

The prosecutor's office receives 15 percent of the proceeds in the event that funds are obtained as a result of the case.

"This is for, in some regard, the time and the work that went into the effort in the forfeiture action as a way to reimburse the county for the time spent by employees," McHugh said.

Conclusions and Concerns

Kootenai County District Judge Patrick Luster sentenced Gray to serve five years in prison, with parole eligibility after two years. Execution of the sentence was suspended and Gray was placed under supervised probation for three years.

Six months prior to Gray's criminal sentencing, Kootenai County District Court Judge Rich Christensen awarded the assets seized during Gray's arrest to the county.

Both McHugh and Wolfinger said that they frequently see cases like Gray's where Idaho's civil forfeiture laws come into play.

"You've got the I-90 corridor and it is the northern route (for traffickers)," Wolfinger said. "If people want to go to the Dakotas with the oil fields booming, they're going to come through here."

The Institute for Justice, a national libertarian, public interest law firm focused on striking down regulations that it deems unjust or unconstitutional, has seen a nationwide rise in the use of civil forfeiture.

The organization gave Idaho a barely passing grade based on its analysis of state forfeiture laws. According to their study, "Idaho appears to only modestly pursue forfeitures against property owners" but "its civil forfeiture laws still put the property of ordinary citizens at risk."

"Forfeiture is an area of law we've seen increasingly trap innocent property owners in this really perverse maze of laws where people walk away from their property rather than fight," Larry Salzman, an attorney with the Institute for Justice, said.

"You have this system in which law enforcement escapes the difficulties of actually proving a case, it's very difficult for people to get their property back once it's been targeted for forfeiture and agencies have a direct financial benefit from the seizure."