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A Million dollars in cash found on routine traffic stop near Anahuac

BMTSoulja1

By BMTSoulja1
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  • BMTSoulja1 changed the title to A Million dollars in cash found on routine traffic stop near Anahuac
InMAGAWeTrust

InMAGAWeTrust

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, thetragichippy said:

I've always had a problem with stuff like this. I get the money is probably from an illegal activity, but at the same time, why should he have to prove it was not? Shouldn't it be the Government's job to prove it was from illegal activity? 

 

Legalized theft, is what it is. Don’t question the cops, ever, especially if black. Move along folks 

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tvc184

tvc184

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, thetragichippy said:

I've always had a problem with stuff like this. I get the money is probably from an illegal activity, but at the same time, why should he have to prove it was not? Shouldn't it be the Government's job to prove it was from illegal activity? 

 

Yes It is the government’s job to prove it and beyond a reasonable doubt. He was charged with a crime and arrested, not a civil forfeiture. 

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tvc184

tvc184

Posted
Posted
54 minutes ago, BMTSoulja1 said:

His previous convictions was probably ultimately this guy’s undoing…. 🤷🏾‍♂️🤷🏾‍♂️

I started to post my response but I will use your post as a nexus and yes you are probably correct, it sure did not help him.

Money laundering is a crime. Money laundering under Texas law is to possess money with intent to commit a crime or were the proceeds from a crime.

The man in the article was arrested for money laundering. He was not taken into custody for possession of money or the money was not seized for a civil forfeiture.

To justify an arrest and a seizure of money for evidence the officers had to have probable cause which is under the 4A to the United States Constitution.

Probable cause is a reasonable belief by a person of caution, who knows the facts that the officer knows at the time of the arrest or search, that will lead the person to believe that a crime it’s probably happening or has happened.

So what do we know about this case going strictly by the article? Will these facts make a reasonable person believe that a crime has likely happened or about to happen? Probable cause is a looking at the totality of the circumstances and not any single item which in itself might be legal. 

1. A traffic stop was made IH10.
2. The driver was from South Carolina so at least several hundred miles from home.
3. The article says the officer spoke with him and he gave indications that something was up. I’m going to speculate that he was overly nervous or simply gave an answer that made absolutely no sense. Either of the situations might not mean much alone however I can give inference that a crime has been committed. This is especially true if you’re caught in a lie.
4. Due to these indications a narcotics dog was brought to the scene.
5. The dog alerted on the vehicle meaning it is very likely there were drugs for in the vehicle or had recently been in the vehicle.
6. A search of the vehicle with probable cause let’s do the discovery of almost $1 million in cash.
7. A check of the man’s record shows that he has not only been arrested but been convicted for drug charges, possibly selling drugs.

We do not know what the guy said that tipped the officers off that something was up but I’m sure it will be on camera. Also unlike the sidewalk lawyers on Facebook, a warrant is not needed to search a vehicle on the roadway. The United States Supreme Court has ruled that waiting for a warrant on the side of the road was unreasonable so a warrant was not needed for a vehicle. The 4A to the  Constitution guarantees the right against “unreasonable” searches and seizures. They have ruled that is not unreasonable to search it vehicle without a warrant. A warrant might take two or more hours and it would be unreasonable to believe the suspect will still be sitting there waiting for the cop two hours later. 

So the officers very likely had probable cause to make the stop, the search and ultimately arrest the suspect.  It was not a single fact that the guy had cash on him.

Out of curiosity and honesty, with the seven things that I just listed, how many people believe this guy was just riding down the road with almost $1 million cash or if he had just made a drug transaction or was in route to a drug transaction?

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tvc184

tvc184

Posted
Posted
20 minutes ago, baddog said:

Gee, I can’t remember the last time I went traveling and forgot my $million in cash in my other suitcase. It was embarrassing, to say the least.

TVC, if he was pulled over for speeding or whatever, they run his ID, does it show out of state convictions?

No. Merely running an ID will not return out-of-state convictions or records or even in Texas however a routine check on a drivers license will show traffic citations within the last few years.

There has to be a specific reason to run a persons criminal history. Any officer can request it however he has to tell the dispatcher at that moment why it is being run and that reason has to be logged into the FBI database immediately. The officer that at time is pretty much locked into his reasoning so if he lies, he is committing a crime and the FBI has the evidence. There are several reasons that we can run such as the suspect in an active criminal investigation, a detention such as a traffic stop or a criminal activity is suspected, criminal histories to a person applying for the police department, etc. I can assure you that you do not want to be running your ex girlfriend’s current boyfriend to see what kind of record he has and get caught. I would not want to go to prison to find out who is dating who. It is also a crime to divulge criminal history to someone other than the police and if you sell the information, it is a felony in Texas. For example if someone that I know says I’ll give you $20 if you tell me if this guy has been arrested and I use the FBI database, if I get caught I might as well get ready for the big house.

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thetragichippy

thetragichippy

Posted
Posted
11 minutes ago, tvc184 said:

Out of curiosity and honesty, with the seven things that I just listed, how many people believe this guy was just riding down the road with almost $1 million cash or if he had just made a drug transaction or was in route to a drug transaction?

I doubt he was transporting his life savings......

Your explanation helped my reasoning of the situation. 

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Derf Nosneb

Derf Nosneb

Posted
Posted
7 minutes ago, tvc184 said:

I started to post my response but I will use your post as a nexus and yes you are probably correct, it sure did not help him.

Money laundering is a crime. Money laundering under Texas law is to possess money with intent to commit a crime or were the proceeds from a crime.

The man in the article was arrested for money laundering. He was not taken into custody for possession of money or the money was not seized for a civil forfeiture.

To justify an arrest and a seizure of money for evidence the officers had to have probable cause which is under the 4A to the United States Constitution.

Probable cause is a reasonable belief by a person of caution, who knows the facts that the officer knows at the time of the arrest or search, that will lead the person to believe that a crime it’s probably happening or has happened.

So what do we know about this case going strictly by the article? Will these facts make a reasonable person believe that a crime has likely happened or about to happen? Probable cause is a looking at the totality of the circumstances and not any single item which in itself might be legal. 

1. A traffic stop was made IH10.
2. The driver was from South Carolina so at least several hundred miles from home.
3. The article says the officer spoke with him and he gave indications that something was up. I’m going to speculate that he was overly nervous or simply gave an answer that made absolutely no sense. Either of the situations might not mean much alone however I can give inference that a crime has been committed. This is especially true if you’re caught in a lie.
4. Due to these indications a narcotics dog was brought to the scene.
5. The dog alerted on the vehicle meaning it is very likely there were drugs for in the vehicle or had recently been in the vehicle.
6. A search of the vehicle with probable cause let’s do the discovery of almost $1 million in cash.
7. A check of the man’s record shows that he has not only been arrested but been convicted for drug charges, possibly selling drugs.

We do not know what the guy said that tipped the officers off that something was up but I’m sure it will be on camera. Also unlike the sidewalk lawyers on Facebook, a warrant is not needed to search a vehicle on the roadway. The United States Supreme Court has ruled that waiting for a warrant on the side of the road was unreasonable so a warrant was not needed for a vehicle. The 4A to the  Constitution guarantees the right against “unreasonable” searches and seizures. They have ruled that is not unreasonable to search it vehicle without a warrant. A warrant might take two or more hours and it would be unreasonable to believe the suspect will still be sitting there waiting for the cop two hours later. 

So the officers very likely had probable cause to make the stop, the search and ultimately arrest the suspect.  It was not a single fact that the guy had cash on him.

Out of curiosity and honesty, with the seven things that I just listed, how many people believe this guy was just riding down the road with almost $1 million cash or if he had just made a drug transaction or was in route to a drug transaction?

"Out of curiosity and honesty, with the seven things that I just listed, how many people believe this guy was just riding down the road with almost $1 million cash or if he had just made a drug transaction or was in route to a drug transaction?"

Or maybe, he was the leader of a group of auto brokers who you see regularly on I-10, 59 or 77 in a caravan hauling cars to Mexico, that would be a cash deal. Could be he had gone to Houston to buy a high end car or class A motor coach.

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tvc184

tvc184

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, raideroldtimer said:

The real question is how much money got by while the dogs were on this rabbit. You know they had to have a tip to know to stop this guy and his stash was probably peanuts compared to what really got by.

I worked highway interdiction. I’ve never made a single drug arrest from a tip in that position. I and my partner at one time made what I believe was the largest crack cocaine seizure and some cash (not the biggest)  in Jefferson County. Of course that was about 25 years ago.

Since the police probably stop about one out of every 500 or less, every time they get tied up with any arrest, it is safe to say several people drove past them with more drugs and money. 

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tvc184

tvc184

Posted
Posted
11 minutes ago, thetragichippy said:

I did not know that.....I thought your criminal history was public info?  

Some or most of it is but it has to be obtained through another channel.  Using the FBI/police  computer is a crime.

When I used to work for Lamar Port Arthur, they would want me to run the license plate of people who would receive citations for parking on the campus. I could not provide it. They were a government agency since they were in public school and they could go down to the Jefferson County tax office and requested and would receive it for free through them. 

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baddog

baddog

Posted
Posted
41 minutes ago, tvc184 said:

No. Merely running an ID will not return out-of-state convictions or records or even in Texas however a routine check on a drivers license will show traffic citations within the last few years.

There has to be a specific reason to run a persons criminal history. Any officer can request it however he has to tell the dispatcher at that moment why it is being run and that reason has to be logged into the FBI database immediately. The officer that at time is pretty much locked into his reasoning so if he lies, he is committing a crime and the FBI has the evidence. There are several reasons that we can run such as the suspect in an active criminal investigation, a detention such as a traffic stop or a criminal activity is suspected, criminal histories to a person applying for the police department, etc. I can assure you that you do not want to be running your ex girlfriend’s current boyfriend to see what kind of record he has and get caught. I would not want to go to prison to find out who is dating who. It is also a crime to divulge criminal history to someone other than the police and if you sell the information, it is a felony in Texas. For example if someone that I know says I’ll give you $20 if you tell me if this guy has been arrested and I use the FBI database, if I get caught I might as well get ready for the big house.

Thanks. I learn a lot on here sometimes.

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tvc184

tvc184

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Derf Nosneb said:

"Out of curiosity and honesty, with the seven things that I just listed, how many people believe this guy was just riding down the road with almost $1 million cash or if he had just made a drug transaction or was in route to a drug transaction?"

Or maybe, he was the leader of a group of auto brokers who you see regularly on I-10, 59 or 77 in a caravan hauling cars to Mexico, that would be a cash deal. Could be he had gone to Houston to buy a high end car or class A motor coach.

Yes, we could what if all kinds of scenarios.

What if he said, yes I have a bill of sale here for 50 cars and they’re going to be trucked back to South Carolina? Here is a number you can call to confirm.

Having worked in that position I would suspect it did not quite go like that. Of course the guy can shut his mouth and not answer any questions whatsoever and he has that right. My guess is that he opened his mouth and they easily were able to prove or suspected that he was lying. I have made some of my best arrest by people who agree to talk and it is not usually hard to prove that someone is lying even the side of the street. If there are two people and they agree to talk it is so simple to discover a lie, it’s almost like cheating.

I was riding with a couple of Beaumont PD officers one time and they made an interdiction  stop. A white male with Georgia license plates was heading eastbound in a pick up. The pick up was registered in his name. He agreed to talk and he gave some story about he left a week ago to go visit a friend in Houston and he was on the way back home. Then they start asking what his friends name was and all of a sudden he did not remember. They asked him where the friend lived so they can send Houston PD by the check and he did not remember that either. The officers would take turns talking to him while he was outside of his truck. He would talk freely with a little nervousness but every time an officer got near the tailgate he would lock up stiff as a board and shut up. It was almost comical.  Walk a few feet away and he would loosen up and start talking again. Then the big question, do you mind us looking around your truck? The answer was no, I don’t mind. One of the officers looked under the truck and saw that the spare tire was brand new. It had no mud on it whatsoever and looked like it had just been mounted the day before. So then the follow up question. How long have you had this truck? He might’ve said two or three years. Have you had any flats? No. Are all of your tires original including a spare? Yes.

Hmmmm……

Well……. The officer took  the spare out from under the truck and rolled it down the side of the shoulder. For some reason it rolled faster at some spots and slower at some spots like there was something heavy inside. Then the tire was bounced a few times and we noticed part of the tire was more stiff in the other parts.

The pickup was take him to the city garage about 3 miles away. The spare tire was opened and 6 kilos of marijuana popped out. 

If a person opens his mouth he decides to lie, it is not usually very hard to figure it out. At the Police Academy I have a allowed two cadets to go outside and make up any story that they wished. The premise was that they had just robbed someplace but they had time to get their stories together. I would give them as much time as I needed to make up the story. They could even write it down on paper if they wanted to. I would then bring one back in the class and question him. I would then have him leave the class and bring the other person in and question him in front of the other cadets. It was almost comical how quickly it was discovered that they were lying. It is because you cannot anticipate all the questions that will be asked. 

A person has the right to remain silent. If he gives up that write anything he says can and will be used against him in a court of law.

I suspect in this case and going by the article, the guy decided he would talk, probably believing he could give a reasonable explanation to whatever they ask.

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