Opinion ID: 31291
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Stop and Seizure

Text: 2 At 2:46 a.m. on the morning of March 1, 2000, Dequilla White was the subject of a traffic stop on I-10. The stop was executed by Sergeant Fountain of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department who averred that he initially stopped White because White crossed onto the shoulder while driving. Upon approaching White's vehicle, Fountain observed that White's passenger, Melvin Morris, was not wearing a seatbelt, as is mandated by Texas law. 3 The officers obtained consent to search the vehicle and found a pistol, a garment bag, and no other luggage. Inside the garment bag was $49,000.00 in cash, divided into seven bundles each bearing a small piece of paper denoting the amount. The Government asserts that this is a common method of carrying currency in drug-related transactions. 4 When asked to explain the presence of the money, initially White allegedly reported that it belonged to three different people who had entrusted it to White so that he could purchase property on their behalf in Leesville. After a narcotics dog alerted to the presence of narcotics on the currency, White allegedly told the officers that he had actually received the money from one individual, Michael Jackson, in order to purchase three pieces of real property in Leesville on Jackson's behalf. White asserted that he was to purchase the property at an auction, but that the location of the auction was, at that time, unknown to him. 5 Morris was questioned separately during the stop. The officers noted discrepancies between White and Morris's explanation of their activities and plans. A search of Morris turned up a slip of paper in Morris's shoe which appeared to the officers to be a receipt, and which contained what officers believed to resemble calculations made based on the price of a kilogram of cocaine. 6 White and Morris were read their Miranda rights and released from the scene. The currency was seized for forfeiture proceedings.