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In re 2001 GMC Denali Vin5/19/2005
AFFIRMED
Robert Nathaniel Jackson ("appellant") appeals from the trial court's refusal to grant him relief from a final judgment entered in a forfeiture proceeding. In this opinion, we reconcile potentially conflicting portions of Arizona's statutory forfeiture scheme. Ariz. Rev. Stat. ("A.R.S.") ยงยง 13-4301 to -4315 (2001).
I.
On March 18, 2003, City of Phoenix police officers responded to an aggravated assault call. Upon arriving at appellant's residence, the officers spoke with appellant, as well as Frank Nick Passalacqua ("Passalacqua") and Nicole Krank. The officers learned that appellant's girlfriend, Tanya Chavez ("Chavez"), had shot at appellant and then left. The responding officers informed a second set of officers of the circumstances surrounding the assault. The other officers decided to wait and see if Chavez returned to the neighborhood.
Eventually Chavez returned and was placed under arrest. At the time of her arrest, the officers discovered a small amount of marijuana on her person. She told the officers that she received the marijuana from appellant and that appellant was selling marijuana out of his house. The officers returned to appellant's house to tell him that they had arrested Chavez.
Upon speaking with appellant the officers noticed the smell of marijuana emanating from the house. They asked appellant about the smell, and he admitted that he had recently smoked marijuana. The officers decided to detain appellant and obtain a search warrant for the house. Having obtained the warrant, the officers searched the house and discovered 568 grams of marijuana, material used to package marijuana for resale, two scales, two cellular phones, a handgun, a holster, and $45,270 in United States currency. The officers also searched two vehicles parked at appellant's house: a 2001 GMC Denali (which contained one and a half pounds of marijuana and packaging materials) and a 2000 Cadillac DeVille (which contained marijuana seeds and packaging materials). The officers seized the above items.
During the search the officers also learned that Eugene Gaul ("Gaul"), one of appellant's roommates, was currently in Chicago , allegedly to sell a large amount of marijuana. The Illinois State Police raided Gaul's hotel room in Chicago and discovered $44,000 in United States currency. A drug detection dog reacted to the money, indicating there was drug residue on the money.
Passalacqua later spoke with the police about the illegal activity at the house. He stated appellant was involved in a marijuana conspiracy and there were many other people involved.
All of the items seized for evidence on March 18, 2003 were seized for forfeiture on March 24, 2003. On April 11, 2003, the state sent appellant a copy of the "Notice of Seizure for Forfeiture and Notice of Pending Forfeiture Making Uncontested Forfeiture Available." The notice was sent via certified mail and was signed for by appellant on April 14, 2003. Information regarding the pending forfeiture was also published in the Arizona Business Gazette on April 17, 2003. On May 7, 2003, appellant filed a "Verified Claim Against Property . . . or, in the Alternative, Petition for Return of Property." This filing claimed the $45,270 was "acquired from the sale of a 1999 Chevrolet Tahoe ($20,000); settlement on a personal injury claim for burns over a large portion of [appellant's] body from an aerosol can explosion ($30,000) and monies legally earned from [appellant's] vending machine business." The filing also alleged that the state had not demonstrated probable cause for the forfeiture and the state had failed to comply with the procedural requireme
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