United States v. One 1957 Ford 2-Door Sedan, 7710.

• Decision Date: 23 October 1958
• Docket Number: No. 7710.,7710.
• Citation: 262 F.2d 651
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Appellant, v. ONE 1957 FORD 2-DOOR SEDAN, SERIAL NO. D7NV-106275, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

262 F.2d 651 (1958)

UNITED STATES of America, Appellant, v. ONE 1957 FORD 2-DOOR SEDAN, SERIAL NO. D7NV-106275, Appellee.

No. 7710.

United States Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit.

Argued October 20, 1958.

Decided October 23, 1958.

L. S. Parsons, Jr., U.S. Atty., Norfolk, Va., for appellant.

A. Jeffery Bivins, Newport News, Va. (Phillips M. Dowding, Bivins, Jacobs & Bivins, and Murray, Ford, West & Wilkinson, Newport News, Va., on the brief), for appellee.

Before SOBELOFF, Chief Judge, HAYNSWORTH, Circuit Judge, and BARKSDALE, District Judge.

BARKSDALE, District Judge.

The United States has appealed from an order of the district court denying forfeiture of a Ford automobile alleged by the Government to have been used, or intended for use, in violation of the Internal Revenue laws, and therefore subject to forfeiture under the provisions of 26 U.S.C.A. §§ 7301, 7302. The facts, about which there was little or no dispute, were as follows:

In the early afternoon of August 8, 1957, officers saw a pickup truck stopped on Route 168 near Warwick, Va. Having knowledge of this truck, the officers searched it and found a considerable quantity of illegal whiskey under the floor covering. Concealing themselves nearby, in a few minutes, the officers observed the Ford automobile here in controversy pass the pickup truck and go on out of sight in a northerly direction. Three men were in the Ford, one Mooring driving. A few minutes later, the Ford and its occupants reappeared and repassed the truck, going south. Within a few minutes, the Ford reappeared and stopped in front of the truck and one Ward (the actual owner of the Ford, although it was registered in the name of his mother), got out of the Ford and approached the truck carrying a can of gasoline and a box of tools. Mooring told Ward there was no one in the truck and instructed him to put the gasoline in it. Mooring got out of the automobile, walked over to the truck, looked under the metal floor covering used to conceal the whiskey, and waved to Teel, the third occupant of the Ford, to drive it away, which he did. Mooring then went to the side of the truck and started to open the door, while Ward was proceeding with the gasoline can to the gas tank of the truck. At this time, the officers appeared and apprehended Ward and Mooring. About the time Mooring and Ward were being apprehended by the officers, the Ford reappeared heading toward the truck, but made a U-turn in the highway, and headed south again. The officers gave chase, caught and stopped the Ford, and arrested Teel, its driver, who was found to be in the possession of the ignition key of the pickup truck.

Upon this state of facts, the district court denied forfeiture, relying principally upon United States v. Lane Motor Co., 344 U.S. 630, 73 S.Ct. 459, 97 L.Ed. 622, and United States v. One Ford Coach, 4 Cir., 184 F.2d 749.

In Lane, the operator of an illegal distillery drove the motor vehicles in controversy a number of miles from his home and parked them at a point one-half mile or more from the distillery,...