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Show THE ZEPHYR JUNE 1991 PAGE 18 drugin money pays many, many ways by Ken Davey Back In autumn, 1990, the Utah Highway Patrol Investigated an accident on Highway 191, near Canyonlands Airport north of Moab. An automobile had overturned. The two occupants of the automobile were shaken, but not seriously Injured. Investigating the accident was UHP officer Rich Haycock, assigned out of the Moab office. At the scene, Haycock arrested a woman from Colorado named Lori Patton. Haycock and Patton were both In court here In Moab, along with Grand County Attorney Lyle Anderson and Judge Bruce Halllday, acting as district court Judge In the absence of Boyd Bunnell. Officer Haycock explained In testimony his recollections of the Incident He told the Judge that upon coming on the scene, he observed what he called "sly and suspicious behavior on the part of Lori Patton and her companion. Haycock said that In the course of his activities, Patton bumped up against him, and he felt a bulge at her side. Highway patrolmen are out on the roads by themselves, and that being the case, they have a fully understandable heightened sense of awareness that on lonely Utah roads they have no police backup. As a matter of they have also developed a concern for suspicious bulges on people they come In contact with. So Haycock asked Patton what the bulge was. She Informed him It was a money belt He asked to see It, she gave It to him, and he looked In tt. He told the Judge that what he found was 6 pills and $5,000 cash. He then arrested Patton. The pills were Tylenol with codeine, and vallum, both drugs available from pharmacies with doctors prescriptions. They are legal to possess If they have been legitimately obtained for medical reasons. But In a world where human beings consciously consume a variety of chemicals to alter or deaden physical or emotional sensation, such drugs have also taken on a recreational role. In addition, many people try to keep around falnklllers as a hedge against a time they may have a toothache or bad back or some other ailment causing discomfort, as a sort of Both of these uses of drugs are Illegal. Lori Patton did not have a prescription for the Tylenol with codeine or the vallum. She pled guilty to a controlled substance violation. But the $5,000 Is another question. According to the law, money found In the proximity of Illegal substances Is presumed to be for the purchase of or the result of the sale of other Illegal substances. In other words, H you have money and drugs, the money Is considered part of your Illegal activities. That money Is called drug money by cops and politicians. And the cash Is divided up, by the state, among the different agencies that worked on the arrest and conviction of the violators. Grand County receives a chunk of that money for cases having to do with the county cannot Well, Ill tell you whats wrong. In each case, even though reasonable people was substances controlled taking conclude from the evidence that the trafficking of Illegal amounts of money, place, In both Instances the Individuals Involved stand to lose significant or money that can make the difference between being able to continue with their lives, possibly losing everything. How Is a truck driver supposed to come up with another $5,000? How Is a family that survives by traveling across the country supposed to make up for a loss more that double that amount? Were the Individuals Involved In drug trafficking? That doesn't make any difference. As long as they cant prove they werent, they lose. How many of us can prove that on August In 27, 1986, we were not holding a secret meeting with Manuel Noriega In a small town southwest Texas? How many of us can prove we werent having cocktails with Colombian drug lords two weeks ago Thursday? self-protecti- on, attorneys or sheriffs department Lori Patton had an explanation of why she was carrying $5,000. She told Judge Halllday that she drove trucks for a living, and was on her way to Arizona to rent a truck. She had pay stubs and other documents Indicating that It was reasonable to assume the money was legally hers, and she asked that the money be returned to her so that she could proceed with making a living. County Attorney Lyle Anderson disputed her story. He told Judge Halllday that the story was suspicious, that travelling with that amount of money down Highway 191 Indicates a plan to use the money for drug purchases. Judge Halllday thought about It Then he told Lori Patton that he believed the money was probably from legitimate sources. But he also told her that she had not convinced him that the money was not being used to purchase drugs In the future. He therefore ordered that the money be seized by the authorities. Lori Patton lost her $5,000. What Is wrong with this picture? On the local court calendar In the near future Is a case of a Latino family who also became Involved with local law enforcement agencies. They too were seen as acting In a suspicious manner. No drugs were found In their vehicle, but the drug sniffing dog reacted with excitement to a pile of cash totaling somewhere around $12,000. The family Is Involved In the racetrack Industry, travelling from one location to another. For Moab residents unfamiliar with the workings of race tracks, personal checks are seldom an acceptable alternative to bills that can be kept In your sock. But, having been stopped carrying such large amounts of legal tender, they now must prove to a Judge that It Is not being used to purchase drugs or as the result of selling drugs. What s wrong with this picture? the money seized? To fund the Grand County government bureaucracy. or month so, check out the public notice section of the Times Independent and Every notice the listings for Grand County v $1,500, or Grand County v $428.39, or any one of a number of similar cases where residents and passers-t- h rough alike lose vehicles and cash when they cannot prove beyond doubt they were not Involved In the (bug trade. The original purpose of drug money and vehicle seizures was to make life tougher for the major drug traffickers, who, caught with kilos of cocaine, were able to afford legal experts with the cash they were carrying. Planes, ships, speedboats, and sums of money were taken, based on laws that reversed the presumption of Innocence huge to a presumption of guilt The motivation for the laws was that It Is the most effective way to fight against major cartels that generate huge profits off of the problems endemic to the drug trade. Civil libertarians and advocates have fought over the Issue, with, so far, the of the laws winning easily. supporters ' It would be a mistake to waste a great deal of sympathy on many of those caught by the laws. If you drive a million bucks' worth of cocaine across country and you get caught on well, too bad, but no one put you In that situation except yourself. And even on a smaller scale, If you engage In drug sales even Just In a town or neighborhood, you knew the rules going In, you really have no claim to victim status. There are Indeed victims of drug traffic. In cities and towns across the country, lives, tens and hundreds of thousands of them, have been destroyed, families have been ripped apart, children and parents and spouses have watched loved ones get caught In a web of addiction and pain that even If recognized, treated, and defeated, leave scars that last a And why was high-powe- red law-and-or- der 70, lifetime. Here In Moab, most families have been touched In one way or another with the agony that can accompany drug dependency. If even a portion of the money seized from drug arrests was put back Into treatment and medical then seizure laws, despite possible and even the clinics, programs, help, civil liberties probable weaknesses, could be considered contributions to a better society. Isnt whats happening. Instead of leaving the arguable laws stand alone and allowing the courts and public But that Cottonwood Condos Call 801-259-88- 97 or write: COTTONWOOD CONDOS Kyle D. or Carrie Bailey 338 East 1st South Moab, (Itah 84532 |