Caudill v. State

• Citation: 613 N.E.2d 433
• Decision Date: 12 May 1993
• Docket Number: No. 10A04-9204-CV-108,10A04-9204-CV-108
• Parties: Michael A. CAUDILL, Appellant (Defendant Below), v. STATE of Indiana and the Indiana State Police, Appellee (Plaintiff Below).
• Court: Court of Appeals of Indiana

Page 433

613 N.E.2d 433

Michael A. CAUDILL, Appellant (Defendant Below), v. STATE of Indiana and the Indiana State Police, Appellee (Plaintiff Below).

No. 10A04-9204-CV-108.

Court of Appeals of Indiana Fourth District.

May 12, 1993.

Charles Gregory Read, Jeffersonville, for appellant.

Linley E. Pearson, Atty. Gen., Gary Damon Secrest, Deputy Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellee.

MILLER, Judge.

Michael A. Caudill's 1984 Ford Bronco and $355 were seized and forfeited after he was arrested for trafficking in cocaine. Caudill claims that: (1) there was insufficient evidence to support the trial court's forfeiture order; and (2) in the alternative, the evidence was the product of an illegal arrest and search and therefore could not be used in support of the trial court's forfeiture order.

We affirm.

FACTS

The facts most favorable to the judgment indicate that on April 12, 1991, Detective Halbert of the Indiana State Police arranged for a confidential informant to buy cocaine from Caudill. The informant called Caudill's house from the police office, while the police monitored the conversation. When Caudill answered the phone, the informant addressed him as "Mike," and asked if he could provide an "eight-ball" of cocaine (approximately three and one-half grams). Caudill said he could. The informant and Caudill agreed to meet in an hour at Caudill's residence in Charlestown. The informant was then wired with a body transmitter and given between $350 and $400 in marked currency. The informant went to Caudill's house, followed by Halbert and Detective Myron L. Wilkerson, who parked on Caudill's street and monitored the transaction.

The detectives heard the informant get out of his car, knock on Caudill's door and talk with someone. The informant told the detectives over the transmitter that Caudill had left his house to go to a motor home where the informant believed Caudill kept his cocaine. The detectives heard someone enter the house and more conversation. The officers then saw the informant driving towards them, and followed him to the prearranged location, where he handed over to them cocaine he claimed to have purchased from Caudill. Based on this, Detective Wilkerson obtained a search warrant for both Caudill's home and the motor home.

Detective Halbert saw Caudill later that evening at approximately 9:30 p.m. Halbert had used the same informant in an unsuccessful attempt to purchase cocaine from a Joanna Long. After this attempt, the informant drove Long to the Horseshoe bar near Charlestown. Halbert, who had been following, saw that Caudill was sitting in his Bronco that was parked in the bar's lot. Halbert saw Long get out of the informant's vehicle and get into Caudill's Bronco, where she stayed for a brief time. When Long got out of Caudill's vehicle, Caudill drove out of the parking lot going north on S.R. 3 into Charlestown. Halbert followed Caudill, but had to turn back in order to continue monitoring the informant; however, Halbert notified other units of Caudill's location.

Detective Radford Guinn, who was also assisting in the surveillance of these transactions, picked up Halbert's message. He positioned himself at Jesse's Place, a bar just north of Caudill's location. Not long after, Caudill drove up and entered Jesse's. Guinn notified the other units of Caudill's location. Immediately after Caudill entered the bar, Detective Wilkerson, accompanied by Officer Harrod of the Jefferson City police, went in the bar after Caudill. Wilkerson followed Caudill into the restroom, told Caudill to get up against the wall, and patted him down for weapons. Wilkerson found none. Wilkerson then arrested Caudill and put him in Wilkerson's car. Caudill's Bronco was taken to the State Police Post in Sellersburg.

Wilkerson then drove Caudill to Caudill's home where a search was underway. Once inside, Wilkerson searched Caudill a second time, and found seven bags of cocaine weighing 4.4014 grams in the right front pocket of Caudill's jacket. Wilkerson also found $355 in cash, which did not match any of the currency given to the informant. No other drugs or money were found in Caudill's home, his motor home, or his Bronco.

On May 22, 1991, the State, along with the Indiana State Police, filed a complaint, asking the trial court to declare Caudill's 1984 Ford Bronco, along with the $355 cash found on his person, forfeited pursuant to Ind.Code 34-4-30.1-1 et seq. In the petition, the State alleged Caudill had been arrested for Dealing in Cocaine, and that at the time of his arrest he had been in possession of the Bronco which he used to transport the cocaine while committing the offense of Dealing and/or Possession of Cocaine. R. 2. On December 4, 1991, the trial court entered judgment for the State, awarded law enforcement costs, and ordered Caudill's Bronco and the $355 of U.S. currency forfeited. R. 181.

DECISION

I. THE FORFEITURE ORDER WAS SUPPORTED BY SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE.

Caudill challenges the sufficiency of the trial court's forfeiture order. Relying on federal case law interpreting the federal forfeiture statute, 21 U.S.C. Sec. 881, Caudill asserts that in order to bring a forfeiture action under I.C. 34-4-30.1-4, the State must prove a "substantial connection" between the seized property and the drug violations. Appellant's Brief at 14. While there are similarities between the two forfeiture provisions, we need not resort to federal law to interpret our own forfeiture statute.

A. Indiana's Forfeiture Law: I.C. 34-4-30.1-1

et seq.

When originally enacted in 1981, I.C. 34-4-30.1-1 only allowed for the forfeiture of vehicles connected with illegal activity, and stolen or converted property. ¹ Since then, this section has been expanded to reach a broad range of personal assets and real property that are traceable to or have facilitated illegal drug operations. For example, I.C. 34-4-30.1-1(a)(2) allows for the seizure of:

[a]ll money, negotiable instruments, securities, weapons, communications devices, or any property commonly used as consideration for a violation of IC 35-48-4 (other than items subject to forfeiture under IC 16-6-8.5-5.1):

(A) furnished or intended to be furnished by any person in exchange for an act that is in violation of a criminal statute;

(B) used to facilitate any violation of a criminal statute; or

(C) traceable as proceeds of the violation of a criminal statute.

In addition, I.C. 34-4-30.1-1(c) creates a rebuttable presumption that any

[m]oney, negotiable instruments, securities, weapons, communications devices, or any property commonly used as consideration for a violation of I.C. 35-48-4 found near or on a person who is committing, attempting to commit, or conspiring to commit any of following offenses ... is property that has been used or was to have been used to facilitate the violation of a criminal statute or is the proceeds of the violation of a criminal statute....

With respect to real and personal property, I.C. 34-4-30.1-1(a)(3) allows the seizure of "[a]ny portion of real or personal property purchased with money that is traceable as a proceed of a violation of a criminal statute." Also, I.C. 34-4-30.1-1(a)(5) subjects to seizure:

Real property owned by a person who uses it to commit any of the following as Class A felony, a Class B felony, or a Class C felony:

(A) Dealing in cocaine or narcotic drug (IC 35-48-4-1).

(B) Dealing in a schedule I, II, or III controlled substance (IC 35-48-4-2).

(C) Dealing in a schedule IV controlled substance (IC 35-48-4-3).

(D) Dealing in marijuana, hash oil, or hashish (IC 35-48-4-10).

Once property is deemed forfeitable according to I.C. 34-4-30.1-1, Indiana's forfeiture law permits law enforcement officers to seize the property before commencing an action for reimbursement and forfeiture. However, this power can be exercised in only three situations: (1) the seizure is incident to a lawful arrest, search, or administrative inspection; (2) the property has been the subject of a prior judgment in favor of the state or unit in a proceeding under I.C. 34-4-30.1-1; or (3) the seizure is pursuant to a court's order based upon an ex parte determination that there is probable cause to believe that the property is subject to seizure under I.C. 34-4-30.1-1. I.C. 34-4-30.1-2(a)(1)-(3).

After property has been seized, the prosecuting attorney in the county where the seizure occurs may, within ninety (90) days after receiving written notice of demand from the owner or within one hundred eighty (180) days from the seizure, whichever comes first, file a complaint for reimbursement of law enforcement costs and forfeiture. I.C. 34-4-30.1-3(a). At the hearing on the State's complaint, it is the State's burden to show by a preponderance of the evidence that the property is seizable according to I.C. 34-4-30.1-1. I.C. 34-4-30.1-4(a). If the property in question is a vehicle, the State must also prove by a preponderance of the evidence that "a person who has an ownership interest of record in the bureau of motor vehicles knew or had reason to know that the vehicle was used in the commission of the offense." Id. Finally, we note that the statute does not provide any affirmative defenses; if a property owner fails to rebut the State's prima facie case, then the trial court shall order the property delivered to the law enforcement agency which seized the property. I.C. 34-4-30.1-4(c).

As one can see, an action for civil forfeiture is a relatively quick procedure and broad in scope. It can also be highly profitable for the State. After the trial court enters its judgment, and determines the amount of law enforcement costs, it must order the proceeds from the property's sale be deposited into the general fund of the State, with any excess being forfeited and transferred to the State Treasurer for deposit into the common school fund. I.C. 34-4-30.1-4(d). The trial court's order may also permit the law enforcement agency to use the forfeited...