A retired US Marine, Stephen Lara, was pulled over by the Nevada Highway Patrol while driving to visit his daughters. Despite having done nothing wrong and not being arrested or charged with a crime, Lara was robbed of his life savings of nearly $87,000. The officer claimed the cash was suspected of being used for illicit activities, but Lara had receipts and bank statements to prove the money was his legitimate savings. The officer, who had planned to hand the money over to the DEA, used a dog alert to justify the seizure, despite knowing that most US currency has trace amounts of drugs. Lara was given a receipt and told to contact the DEA to try to get his money back. He eventually sued the DEA and, after six months and a lawsuit from the Institute for Justice, his money was returned. However, Lara's case highlights the issue of civil forfeiture, where the government can take people's property without proving a crime, and he is now suing the Nevada Highway Patrol to prevent this from happening to others.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The incident occurred on February 19, 2021, when Stephen Lara was pulled over by the Nevada Highway Patrol.
2. Stephen was driving to visit his daughters in a small California town west of Reno.
3. The officer who pulled him over claimed it was for following a semi-truck too closely, but the real reason was for highway interdiction.
4. Stephen was a retired U.S. Marine and had his life savings, nearly $87,000, in his car.
5. The officer asked Stephen if he had any large amounts of U.S. currency in the vehicle, and Stephen replied that he had over $10,000.
6. The officer asked for permission to search the vehicle, and Stephen agreed, not wanting to appear non-cooperative.
7. The officer found the money and called his superior and a DEA agent to report the discovery.
8. The DEA agent was not present but was involved in the conversation and agreed to "adopt" the seizure.
9. The officer's superior, a highway patrol sergeant, arrived on the scene and decided to put the dog on the currency.
10. The dog alerted to the presence of drugs, but this does not necessarily mean the currency was used in an illegal drug transaction.
11. The sergeant seized the money, claiming it was likely used in an illegal transaction, despite lacking probable cause.
12. Stephen was given a receipt for the seized currency and a number to call the DEA agent.
13. Stephen had to convince his brother to wire him $1,000 to continue his trip to see his daughters.
14. After nearly an hour and a half, Stephen was released, but his money was not returned.
15. Stephen sued the DEA in federal court to get his money back, and after six months, the DEA agreed to return his cash.
16. Stephen and the Institute for Justice also sued the Nevada Highway Patrol in state court to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.