Com. v. McJett

Citation811 A.2d 104
PartiesCOMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania v. Eugene McJETT, Appellant.
Decision Date25 November 2002
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania

Michael G. Floyd, Philadelphia, for appellant.

Jonathan M. Levy, Philadelphia, for appellee.

BEFORE: COLINS, President Judge, SMITH-RIBNER, Judge, PELLEGRINI, Judge, LEADBETTER, Judge, COHN, Judge, SIMPSON, Judge, and LEAVITT, Judge. OPINION BY Judge COHN

Eugene McJett (McJett) appeals a decision of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County (trial court) denying his petition for return of property in the form of $60,000 in currency and granting the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's (Commonwealth) petition for forfeiture of the money pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 6801-6802, commonly known as The Controlled Substances Forfeiture Act (Forfeiture Act). We affirm.

On September 4, 1998, members of the Philadelphia Police Department executed a search warrant at McJett's residence at 5028 North Marvine Street in the City of Philadelphia. During that search, the police seized several items, including sixty thousand dollars ($60,000) in U.S. currency, a .9 mm handgun and a triple beam scale. The search and seizure was conducted pursuant to a search warrant issued on that date and supported by an affidavit of probable cause given by Detective Michael J. Reynolds, a narcotics investigator employed by the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office (Detective Reynolds).1

Alleging that the warrant was issued without probable cause because it was not based on a reasonable affiant, McJett filed a motion to suppress the search warrant which was used to gain entry to his home. Additionally, arguing that there was an insufficient nexus between the cash confiscated from his home and the drug activity which allegedly was the source of the money, McJett petitioned for return of his property.

Before the trial court, McJett testified that he obtained the $60,000 cash seized by the police, in part, from gambling winnings, and that $20,000 of the money was a gift to his wife from her mother in 1996. In support of his testimony, McJett offered into evidence receipts for the year 1996 from various Atlantic City casinos, as well as his 1996 Federal Income Tax Return. McJett also testified that he was a diabetic and the triple beam scale seized from his kitchen was used to weigh food. As to the plastic bags found in the kitchen, McJett stated that he was a fisherman and used the bags to store the fish and to give excess fish that he caught to family, friends and neighbors. He also testified that the gun seized by the police on September 4, 1998, did not belong to him and he did not know how it got in his house. However, when asked which bedroom he slept in, he stated that the members of his family slept in any of the rooms in the house at any given time.

The Commonwealth offered the testimony of Detective Reynolds who stated that he first became involved with the matter when he was contacted at the beginning of September 1998 by Detective Dunn, a task force officer from D.E.A. in Richmond, Virginia, regarding information about an individual identified as a source of supply of cocaine. He stated that, with the information he received from Detective Dunn, police reports and his own independent investigation, he prepared an affidavit in support of a search warrant to search McJett's residence. After securing the search warrant, Detective Reynolds stated that he and other officers went to McJett's residence to execute the warrant. He stated that upon searching the residence, he confiscated a purple Crown Royal velvet bag containing $60,000 in U.S. currency2 from the front bedroom, a pistol found in a man's coat in that same bedroom, as well as a triple-beam scale, which he identified as being commonly used to weigh controlled substances for the drug trade, and some gallon-size plastic bags located next to the scale from the kitchen which he considered part of the packaging material. He also stated that some jewelry, numerous documents reflecting residency, keys and mobile phones were also seized.

The Commonwealth also offered the testimony of Detective Dunn who stated that he contacted the Philadelphia Police Department in August 1998, after an investigation he was conducting led to a cocaine supplier in Philadelphia. He stated that he advised Detective Reynolds that an individual he had in custody informed him that he had been dealing with a person known as "Gino" in Philadelphia for several months, and that cocaine seized from the informant in Virginia had allegedly come from him. Detective Dunn testified that he gave Detective Reynolds all of the information in regard to "Gino" that the informant had given to him, such as a physical description, that he operated a Toyota Landcruiser and Cadillac STS, that "Gino" had two associates, a description of the area in which "Gino" lived, and cell phone, pager and home telephone numbers.

Raymond Blassengale (Blassengale), the informant who provided Detective Dunn with information regarding McJett, also testified before the trial court. He stated that he had known McJett from around Philadelphia for approximately fifteen years. He stated that during 1998, McJett fronted cocaine to him on four occasions— twice in February, once in June and once around August 12 or 13. Blassengale stated that he and McJett would meet at a trucking station at the Murray Street exit of I-95 for McJett to deliver the cocaine to him, and he paid McJett either in Virginia or in Philadelphia.3

As to McJett's motion to suppress the search warrant, the trial court found that although there were no facts to establish that Blassengale had ever given information to any police department before, he was credible and his information was reliable because his story was corroborated by other sources, he made many statements to the Richmond Police Department that were against his legal interest, and McJett's reputation supported Blassengale's tip. Based on those findings, the trial court concluded that there was probable cause to issue a search warrant for McJett's residence and, therefore, the motion to suppress was without merit. As to McJett's petition to return property, the trial court found that, based on McJett's possession of a large amount of controlled substance in May 1998, Blassengale's testimony that he had recently purchased cocaine from McJett and the fact that McJett could not credibly explain where the $60,000 came from, a sufficient nexus of events existed to warrant the seizure of his property.4 This appeal followed.

Initially, McJett contends that the search and seizure conducted at his home on September 4, 1998, was unlawful because there was no probable cause to support the issuance of the search warrant under which the search and seizure were conducted and, therefore, he is entitled to return of his property.5 He argues that the testimony of the confidential informant for the Richmond police was not sufficient to establish probable cause for a search warrant because there was no way for the Philadelphia police to determine or evaluate the informant's veracity, reliability or basis of knowledge.6 Information received from confidential informants may properly form the basis of a probable cause determination. Commonwealth v. Luv, 557 Pa. 570, 735 A.2d 87 (1999). A determination of probable cause based upon information provided by a confidential informant depends upon the informant's reliability and basis of knowledge viewed in a common sense, non-technical manner. Id. Such a tip may constitute probable cause where police independently corroborate the tip, or where the informant has provided accurate information of criminal activity in the past, or where the informant himself participated in the criminal activity. Id. See also Commonwealth v. Jones, 542 Pa. 418, 668 A.2d 114 (1995) (plurality opinion)

.

In this case, after receiving Detective Dunn's report of the information provided to him by Blassengale, Detective Reynolds corroborated Blassengale's story by checking police files and finding that all of the factual information provided by Blassengale, including McJett's physical description, the location of his residence, the types of vehicles McJett operated, as well as information regarding a recent arrest in New Jersey for possession of three-and-one-half kilograms of cocaine, was accurate. Additionally, Blassengale admitted to participating in drug-related criminal activity with McJett when he told the Richmond police that he had entered into four separate transactions with McJett during 1998—the last transaction, to purchase cocaine on a credit basis, being only three weeks prior to the issuance and execution of the search warrant. Because Detective Reynolds independently corroborated Blassengale's story, and Blassengale admitted that he participated in drug-related criminal activity with McJett and that such activity took place at McJett's residence, there was sufficient probable cause to support the issuance of a search warrant for McJett's residence. Therefore, the trial court did not err in denying the motion to suppress.

McJett also contends that the trial court erred in ordering that the property seized from his home on September 4, 1998, be forfeited pursuant to the Forfeiture Act because the items seized were not contraband and no unlawful activity was established.7 The Commonwealth, however, argues that because it established, by a preponderance of the evidence, that a nexus between the money and drug-related criminal activity existed, forfeiture of the money was appropriate.

The Forfeiture Act permits the forfeiture of money exchanged for drugs or used or intended to be used to facilitate any violation of The Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act. 42 Pa.C.S. § 6801(a)(6)(i)(A) and (B).8 In a forfeiture proceeding, the Commonwealth has the burden to establish, by a preponderance of the evidence,...

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