Mr. L was traveling on the I-40 when he was pulled over by a DPS officer who claimed he was following too closely to another vehicle. He was ultimately stopped and the van was found to have been rented to our client, who was the front seat passenger. Although all three individuals in the van spoke Spanish, they were asked to sign a Consent to Search form that was in both English and Spanish. Ultimately, the Officers discovered large empty duffel bags with empty Ziploc bags. They also tested the seats and found they did not have the proper density.

After physically removing the back panel off the seats, they located bundles of US currency which totaled just over $403,000. All three individuals were arrested, and Mr. L was charged with Money Laundering. During the defense of the case, we were able to show that the prior conviction out of Florida did not qualify as actual convictions, and that these were not to be used against our client. Because the fact pattern of the stop was very similar to other cases we have handled, and because the location was very similar to other stops, we began inquiring into the identity of any possible informants.

We worked with the Prosecutor, who then agreed to reduce the charges to a Class 6 Open/Misdemeanor Facilitation with Probation and no additional jail, as long as there was a stipulated forfeiture of the $403,000 and there would be no further discovery into the identity of any possible informants.  Other issues included the fact that other Officers initially testified that there were no informants, but this appeared to be somewhat questionable. Ultimately, Mr. L was facing mandatory prison due to the amount being laundered was above $100,000, he instead received probation, which he successfully completed. He now only has a Misdemeanor conviction on his record.