One Hundred Fifty-Three Thousand Three Hundred Forty Dollars ($153,340.00) v. State ex rel. Rankin Cnty. Sheriff's Office

1

ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-THREE THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED FORTY DOLLARS ($153,340.00) IN UNITED STATES CURRENCY AND GENE PARNELL TAYLOR APPELLANTS v. STATE OF MISSISSIPPI EX REL. RANKIN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE APPELLEE

No. 2020-CA-01409-COA

Court of Appeals of Mississippi

September 13, 2022

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 12/10/2020

RANKIN COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT HON. JOHN H. EMFINGER TRIAL JUDGE:

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANTS: AMMIE THI NGUYEN

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE: MICHAEL SHELTON SMITH II JOHN K BRAMLETT JR. CHRISTOPHER TODD McALPIN

EN BANC.

GREENLEE, J.

¶1. In this civil action, the Rankin County County Court held that $153,340 in United States Currency should be forfeited to the Rankin County Sheriff's Office. The county court found that the claimant Gene Taylor-though not charged with a felony-was engaged in "a drug-courier endeavor" and that the $153,340 found in his possession were proceeds of one or more violations of Mississippi's Uniform Controlled Substances Law. See Miss. Code Ann § 41-29-101 to -191 (Rev. 2018). Subsequently, Taylor appealed Judge Kent McDaniel's decision to the Rankin County Circuit Court, and Judge John Emfinger affirmed the county court's order of forfeiture.

¶2. Taylor asserts the following issues in his appeal that is now before this Court: (1) whether the evidence supported the forfeiture of the currency, (2) whether the forfeiture amounted to an excessive fine, and (3) whether testimony that Taylor met a drug-courier profile was sufficient evidence to prove that the currency was forfeitable. Finding no reversible error, we affirm the circuit court's judgment affirming the county court's order.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶3. In March 2018, the State of Mississippi, on behalf of the Rankin County Sheriff's Office (the State), filed a petition for forfeiture alleging that on March 15, 2018, an officer lawfully stopped a 2016 Majestic recreational vehicle (RV) traveling westbound on Interstate 20 (I-20) in Rankin County. Gene Taylor, the driver and sole occupant of the RV advised the officer that he had tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in his possession. After a K-9 alerted to the odor of drugs on the RV, the RV was searched pursuant to a warrant. Law enforcement found two cardboard boxes containing $147,540 and a red duffle bag containing $5,800. A K-9 later alerted to the odor of drugs on the currency. In its petition, the State requested that the seized currency be forfeited. Thereafter, Taylor filed an answer and affirmative defenses, in which he asserted that the $153,340 belonged to him.

¶4. In February 2020, a forfeiture hearing was held in the Rankin County County Court. The State called the following witnesses to testify: Deputy Ronnie Decell, Deputy Sentel Easterling, and Investigator Brad Smith. Additionally, Captain Nick McLendon testified as an expert witness. Taylor testified on his own behalf and called Dr. Howard Campbell to testify as an expert witness.

¶5. The State presented evidence that on March 15, 2018, Deputy Decell with the interstate interdiction unit of the Rankin County Sheriff's Office conducted a traffic stop of a rented RV with a California license plate for careless driving on I-20 West in Rankin County.^[1] According to Deputy Decell, Taylor-the driver and sole occupant of the RV-had crossed the white fog line several times. When Deputy Decell approached the RV, Taylor explained that he had driven from his residence in the State of Washington with the intention of driving to Florida, but when he arrived in Atlanta, Georgia, he decided to go to Texas instead. Deputy Decell noted that Taylor did not appear to be impaired and recognized that the wind could cause a RV to cross the fog line, so he decided to issue a warning.

¶6. While Deputy Decell was writing the warning, he obtained Taylor's driver's license information and criminal history. Deputy Decell discovered, based on cameras at the state line, that Taylor had driven east through northern Mississippi the day before. Deputy Decell testified that this detail "agree[d] with the story that [Taylor] gave [him]," but it was "kind of puzzling . . . why somebody would drive forty hours plus and then decide to turn around and go back[.]" He testified that this was a red flag to him. Deputy Decell also discovered that Taylor had been charged with possession of marijuana in Texas in 2012.

¶7. When he approached the RV again, Deputy Decell asked Taylor if he had ever been arrested and if there was anything illegal in the RV. Taylor later testified that he was asked if he had ever been "in trouble." Taylor stated that he had not, but when Officer Decell confronted him with the prior drug charge, he paused and then said, "[O]h, yeah, I do. You're right. I do have a charge." Taylor also told Deputy Decell that there was nothing in the RV but then picked up a vape pen and said, "[A]ll I have is this vape pen. It's THC oil." Deputy Decell asked Taylor if there was anything else in the RV-specifically narcotics, large amounts of U.S. currency, or items being transported for someone else. Taylor responded, "No." Deputy Decell indicated that he was suspicious of additional criminal activity because of Taylor's travel pattern and untruthfulness about his criminal history. Because THC was illegal in Mississippi, Deputy Decell intended to search the RV but asked Taylor for consent. Taylor refused to consent to a search and was arrested for possession of the vape pen with THC oil.^[2]

¶8. Deputy Decell testified that a certified K-9, which was trained to alert to marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and ecstasy, alerted to the driver's door handle of the RV. Deputy Decell notified Taylor that he had probable cause to search the RV and asked him if there was anything else that he wanted to tell him, but Taylor invoked his right to counsel. Then, Taylor was transported to the Rankin County Jail, and the RV was transported to the "Rankin County Shop" to be searched.

¶9. After Investigator Smith obtained a warrant, Deputy Decell and Deputy Easterling searched the RV. They found a small red duffle bag containing clothes, a toiletry bag, and $5,800. They also found two cardboard boxes, which were in the cabinets in the back of the RV. One box contained a blanket on top of currency that was banded together with bank bands and rubber bands. The other box contained a blanket on top of currency that was bank banded and wrapped in plastic. The total amount of currency in the two boxes was $147,540. Deputy Decell and Deputy Easterling also found to-go boxes and receipts in the RV. Deputy Decell testified that the receipts indicated that Taylor had been to Anderson, South Carolina, even though he stated that he had turned around in Atlanta, Georgia. Deputy Easterling testified that his K-9 later alerted to the odor of drugs on the currency.

¶10. Ultimately, Taylor was released and given enough money to drive home in the RV. According to Deputy Decell and Investigator Smith, Taylor stated at the time of his release that the currency in the red duffle bag belonged to him, but he did not claim the currency in the cardboard boxes.^[3] Later, Taylor testified that he meant that all the currency belonged to him.

¶11. Captain McLendon testified as an expert in "criminal interdiction, smuggling[,] and drug-courier profile." According to Captain McLendon, Taylor fit the profile of a drug courier. In reaching his opinion, Captain McLendon considered several factors. He testified that Taylor's prior drug charge showed that he had knowledge of marijuana, and the fact that he lived in Washington was significant because Washington had become a source for illegal distribution of marijuana. He further testified that Atlanta-where Taylor indicated that he had turned around-was the largest drug-distribution area in the region. He also testified that Taylor's untruthfulness about his criminal history was "very consistent . . . with drug trafficking." Next, Captain McLendon explained that currency often traveled west on I-20, as it did in this case, whereas drugs traveled east on I-20. Captain McLendon testified that the fact that Taylor was driving a rented RV was significant because drug couriers tend to rent vehicles to avoid detection and to avoid their personal vehicles being seized. He testified that Taylor's travel pattern and the amount of luggage in the RV was "consistent with subjects who are trying to get from point A to point B very quickly." He testified that the fact that Taylor did not claim the currency that was later found under blankets in cardboard boxes led him to believe that Taylor was trying to conceal the source of the currency. He further explained that the currency in the duffle bag could have been Taylor's payment for transporting the drugs and that drug couriers often claim the smaller amount of currency as theirs because they view it as theirs. Finally, Captain McLendon considered the odor of drugs on the vehicle and the currency in reaching his opinion that Taylor fit the profile of a drug courier.

¶12. On cross-examination, Captain McLendon acknowledged that law enforcement did not find a large amount of drugs, weapons, small baggies, scales, air freshener, tools, tape, drug ledgers, or hidden compartments in the RV. Additionally, he acknowledged that there were not any reports tracing the currency to an exchange of drugs, and no evidence indicated that Taylor had ever been stopped with large amounts of currency or for transporting drugs. However, Captain McLendon testified that none of the factors taken alone would be enough to classify a person as a drug courier. Rather, drug-courier profiling was based on the totality of the circumstances.

¶13. After the State rested its case-in-chief, the court denied Taylor's motion to...