Seizures in drug cases mean millions for law enforcement

CHESAPEAKE

James E. Revell III sits in the city jail, awaiting trial on multiple cocaine and firearm charges.

Lots of his stuff is locked up, too.

Authorities have seized a fleet of his vehicles, including a Lexus, two Ford Excursions, a Ford pickup, a Buick sedan, a 32-year-old Ford Bronco, and a Chris-Craft boat and trailer. Also seized were at least nine of his bank accounts or safety deposit boxes, a Breitling watch, $2,310 in cash, and a typed page's worth of electronics, power tools, cell phones and music equipment, according to court records.

To convict him, prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Revell, 36, committed those crimes.

To keep his stuff to use or sell for law enforcement purposes, authorities only need to meet the lesser civil-proceeding burden of a preponderance of the evidence - 51 percent, as they say around the courthouse - that the property was "used in substantial connection with or were proceeds derived from" the illegal-drug trade.

Court records indicate Revell's is an extreme example under Virginia's asset-forfeiture law and program, in effect since 1991.

Law enforcement agencies across Virginia have netted millions in essentially free money as a result. They frequently use it to buy equipment. Sometimes they use it to hire a Turkish translator.

Prosecutors in drug cases may ask the court to award seized property to the state. Civil hearings are held, and owners are allowed to present evidence that the property had nothing to do with drugs or the defendant: Other family members could present a car title with their name on it, for example, or a defendant could produce pay stubs or receipts to account for purchases.

Cash and cars - often far from clunkers - make up the bulk of seizures, according to filings with Virginia's Department of Criminal Justice Services, which oversees the program. Mercedes and Cadillac vehicles pop up often; Chesapeake police snagged a $46,000 Escalade a few years ago.

Virginia Beach police in fiscal year 2008 had a seizure of $190,658 in cash. Other big chunks come from real estate - Portsmouth police seized a $397,390 property the same year, though it wasn't immediately known what was done with the property.

Televisions and video-game equipment also commonly are seized, according to the records. The state's reach can be wide: Virginia Beach police in recent years confiscated an $800 set of "teeth covers."

The Beach also has taken in several "Jesus head" jewelry pendants, a $23,800 "Interstate 64" necklace with blue diamonds, a punching bag and, in one swoop, 206 pairs of sneakers.

Often, no one shows up in court to object, and the property is forfeited by default. Unlike in criminal cases, defendants who can't afford a lawyer are not entitled to one in most civil cases. An ything they say in the civil proceeding could be used against them in a criminal trial.

In Chesapeake, the hearings are held every other Wednesday. A recent 10-minute session started out with a bang for Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Stephanie Pass, who handles most of that city's forfeitures: A defendant didn't show up to fight for a Cadillac and a Ford Expedition.

"All right, let's have the order," Circuit Court Judge John Brown said.

As soon as he signed it, Virginia owned two more vehicles.

Pass said later that she works on the criminal and civil sides of her cases together because they're so entwined.

" 'Unexplained wealth' often is very relevant to me to prosecute those cases," she said.

Ten percent of forfeiture proceeds goes to the state, and localities make their own agreements about dividing the remainder between police and prosecutors. In Chesapeake, for example, the split is 70 percent police, 30 percent commonwealth's attorney, but that changes to 50-50 with real-estate forfeitures.

Chesapeake police received the equivalent of $814,013 in the past seven fiscal years, according to the DCJS, and the city's commonwealth's attorney's office got $369,400.

The Virginia Beach and Norfolk police departments both realized more than $2 million. Virginia law enforcement agencies as a whole shared about $34.75 million in that time.

The money - or items that are kept, such as a car - isn't allowed to replace parts of budgets but is to be used for nonbudgeted law enforcement needs. Much of it goes to communications and surveillance gear, weapons and training, according to recent annual reports filed with the DCJS, which audits expenditures.

Law enforcement uses also can cover a wide area. Purchases listed in the reports include several police dogs and vehicles, plus things such as $89,000 in management studies by Chesapeake police, $3,200 for 9,000 crime-prevention brochures and coloring books for Portsmouth police, $10,000 for the Virginia Beach commonwealth's attorney's office to send 27 attorneys through a "Basic Defensive Handgun Course," $525 for a ceremonial bugle for Norfolk police, and $1,100 for a Turkish translator for Chesapeake prosecutors.

That Chesapeake case involved a misdemeanor sexual assault, and the state doesn't provide interpreters for misdemeanors, said Nancy Parr, the city's commonwealth's attorney.

"I thought, well, this is a good use of asset-forfeiture money," she said. "That was something, if I didn't have any forfeiture money, I certainly didn't have it in my budget."

Another time, she and Pass said, they used the money to hide two witnesses in a robbery-abduction case. They changed hotels each day, they said, because one witness had been shot the morning of an earlier hearing. Virginia and localities have no "witness protection" funds, they said.

Two friends of James Revell, in court papers and an interview, said they plan to contest some of the seizures, saying the vehicles were theirs or Revell obtained them through inheritance. One agreed with his lawyer that they didn't think Revell would be contesting any seizures.

He has bigger worries, they said.

Matthew Bowers, (757) 222-5221, matthew.bowers@pilotonline.com