Prosecutors tried to drop the forfeiture case, but the judge would not let them.
Jacob Sullum
The story of how cops stole $20,000 from Guillermo Espinoza, a construction worker with no criminal record, is sadly familiar in most respects: In July 2013, while driving through Arkansas on his way to Texas, Espinoza was pulled over by a state trooper who discovered a large amount of cash in the car, which he viewed as inherently suspicious. The money was seized and eventually forfeited based on vague allegations of drug-related activity. But there's a twist: There was so little evidence of such activity that local prosecutors decided to drop the forfeiture case. The judge would not let them, and last week a state appeals court declined to review that astounding decision because Espinoza had missed a filing deadline.
It's not clear why Arkansas State Police Sgt. Dennis Overton decided to stop Espinoza......."It is obvious from the tape [of the traffic stop] that the dog did not alert on the vehicle at the scene of the stop."......To Read More....
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