Opinion ID: 3134942
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: On May 23, 1998, police officers responded to a tip that a man with a gun had entered the Drexel National Bank. Upon their arrival at the bank, the officers observed Rashawn holding a white cylinder-shaped object under his arm. The officers performed a protective pat-down of Rashawn and found several bundles of currency. The white cylinder-shaped object was actually a sock filled with additional currency. In all, the officers recovered $30,700 from Rashawn. The officers questioned Rashawn and learned that he did not have an existing account at the bank, but that he planned to rent a safety deposit box. Rashawn gave conflicting answers when asked where he had obtained the money and was unable to tell the officers how much money he was carrying. The officers took Rashawn to the police station for further questioning. At the station, Rashawn admitted that he was a member of a gang, that he was unemployed and that he did not own the money. Rashawn also told the officers that he had been arrested for possession of cannabis and was out on bond pending a hearing. A background check confirmed this arrest and also revealed that Rashawn had been arrested several times in Sangamon County, the last arrest on September 30, 1997. The officers performed a “money lineup,” at which a police dog positively identified the currency as having a residue odor of narcotics. A further search of Rashawn revealed three separate safety deposit box keys. One of the keys was for a safety deposit box at the Drexel National Bank registered to Ida Carter, Rashawn’s grandmother. The officers obtained a search warrant for the safety deposit box. During a subsequent search of the box, the police recovered $20,811. A police dog positively identified the currency as having a residue odor of narcotics. The State did not prosecute Rashawn for any narcotics violation in connection with the currency. On August 4, 1998, the State filed a complaint for forfeiture of the $30,700 and $20,811. The complaint named Rashawn as a party with interest in the currency. On the same day, the State mailed notice of the forfeiture proceedings and a copy of the complaint via certified mail, with a return receipt requested, to Rashawn at 4844 S. State Street, Chicago, Illinois. The State did not receive a return receipt from the mailing. The State then published notice of the forfeiture proceedings on August 7, August 14 and August 21 in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. And on September 2, 1998, the State sent a notice of forfeiture by certified mail to Ida at 4844 S. State Street. The State did not receive a return receipt from the September 2 mailing. Neither Rashawn nor Ida appeared at the forfeiture proceedings. On October 13, 1998, the circuit court entered a default order forfeiting Rashawn’s interest and that of all other parties claiming right, title, or interest in the currency. On January 13, 1999, Rashawn and Ida filed a joint motion to vacate the forfeiture, alleging that they did not receive notice of the forfeiture proceedings. In support of the motion, Rashawn averred that he was incarcerated for unrelated charges in the Vandalia Correction Center beginning July 7, 1998, until his release November 10, 1998. Ida also filed an affidavit in which she averred that she was the owner of the safety deposit box and she did not receive the notice of the forfeiture proceedings mailed to her home. The circuit court denied the motion to vacate the forfeiture order. The appellate court reversed, finding that the circuit court lacked personal jurisdiction over Rashawn and Ida because they were not properly served. 316 Ill. App. 3d 464, 471. The court noted further that numerous federal courts have questioned the probative value of positive dog alerts due to reports that reveal the high level of contamination of the nation’s money supply with narcotics residue. 316 Ill. App. 3d at 472. The court adopted the view of these federal courts that the mere fact of prior contamination fails to establish that the currency was actually exchanged for or intended to be exchanged for drugs by the person currently in possession of the currency. 316 Ill. App. 3d at 473. Accordingly, the court concluded that the “sniff test” was not enough to establish probable cause that the currency seized from Rashawn was connected to narcotics. 316 Ill. App. 3d at 473.