UNI TED STATES DI STRI CT COURT FOR THE DI STRI CT OF COLUMBIA

__________________________________________ ) UNI TED STATES OF AMERI CA, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Civil Action No. 10-2078 ( PL F) ) $2,550.00 I

N UNI TED STATES CURRENCY, ) seized on J uly

14, 2010, in Washington, D.C., ) from Da mien Irby near 2921 Nelson Place , S.E., ) as police w ere about to serve a drug -re lated ) sear ch wa rra nt there, ) ) Def endant in rem
. ) __________________________________________)
MEMORANDUM OPI

NI ON This matter is befor e the Court on the unoppose d motion of plaintiff, the United States of Amer ica, f

or a de fault judg ment and fina l order of forf eiture a g ainst the defe ndant proper ty under 18 U .S.C. § 983(a)(4) , Rule 55 of the F eder al Rules of Civil P roce dure, a nd Rule G of the Supplementa l Rules for Admiralty or Mar itime Cl aims and Asset F orfe iture Ac tions. The de fenda

nt property

is $2,550.00 in United St ates c urre ncy , described as having be en “se ized on J uly 14, 2010, from Da

mien L . Irby

as he w as outside the building at 2921 Nelson Place, S.E., Washington, D.C., when [police] office rs wer e pre paringto serve a drugsear ch wa

rra nt at Apar tment Number Two at this address.” Complaint (“Compl.”) ¶ 2. Upon consider ation of the g overnme nt’s verifie d complaint, its pending motion, the re levant leg al authorities, and the entire
rec ord in this case, the Court will gra nt the g overnme nt’s motion for a def ault judgme nt and final order of for feiture
.Offic ers f rom the District of Columbia’s Metropolitan Police De partment seized the def endant pr operty

from Da mien Irby on Wednesday , J uly

14, 2010, while pre paringto execute a dr

ug -re lated sea

rch w arr ant in Apar

tment Number 2 at 2921 Nelson Place, S.E., Washington, D.C. Upon a la wful sea rch of the apa rtment, offic ers discove red a signific ant quantity of nar cotics and dr

ugpara pherna lia commonly

used for drugdistribution. M r. I

rby had in his possession t he key s to Apartment Number 2, which he ha d been usingas a site f or the prepa ration and sa le of c rac k coca ine. See Compl. ¶¶ 9, 19. On Dec ember

8, 2010, the g overnme nt commence d this action by filing a verifie d complaint for f

orfe iture in rem . The United States then published notice of the for feitureaction on the g overnme nt’s forf

eiture w ebsite and se nt notice by mail to Mr. Irby

and his attorney . See Affida vit in S upport of De fault at 2 n.2. No c laim to the defe ndant prope rty has bee n filed. On April 4, 2011, the plaintiff filed a n Affida vit in S upport of De fault. The Cler k of the Court enter ed a de fault on April 5, 2011. The Court finds as fac t the repr esentations made by the plaintiff in its Affidavit in Support of Defa ult. The United States ha s moved for e ntry of a de fault judg ment and fina l order of forf eiture to ve st leg al title to the defe ndant prope rty and its ownership in the United States. The Court concludes that the plaintiff is entitled to a defa ult judgment under

Rule 55 of the F eder al Rules of Civil P roce dure a nd to a final orde r of f

orfe iture. B ased on the g overnme nt’s well pleade d alleg ations in the verifie d complaint for f eiture in rem , the Court finds that the def endant proper ty , $2,550.00 in United States curr ency , is money , neg otiable instruments, secur ities, or other thing s of value f

urnished or intende d to be furnishe d by a per son in ex chang e for a controlled substanc e, proc eeds tra cea ble to such an e x chang e, or mone y s, neg otiable instruments,

2or sec urities used or intende d to be used to fa cilitate a violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 801 et seq . As

such, the de fenda

nt property , $2,550.00 in United States curr ency , is subject to forfe iture to the United States pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 881(a). T he Court finds that the verified complaint for forf eiture in rem states a f

actua l and leg al basis for f orfe iture. F urther, no de fense to the forf eiture ha ving be en interpose d, and no opposition havingbeen ma de to the motion for entr y of a def ault judgme nt, the motion will be grante d, and a f inal order of for feiture will be issued. An Orde r consistent with this Memorandum Opinion shall issue this same day
.

SO ORDERED.

/s/ PAULL . FRI EDMAN United States District J udg e DATE: May

12, 2011

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