CASH SEIZURES DEMAND GREAT CARE, OFFICERS SAY

There's no set protocol, but it's best to work in pairs at all times,
they say, and that wasn't done in a recent Dallas County case.

Brian Rink remembers the first time he saw stacks of seized cash on
the job with the Cass County sheriff's office.

"It's exciting, no doubt about it," said Rink, the office's chief
deputy. "What amazes me is that we are only getting a small
percentage of what is going through the state."

Once such a seizure is made, Rink said, officers must take great care
as the cash is transported, counted and stored.

The more than $781,000 that Dallas County sheriff's deputies found
hidden in a car last month represents one of the largest single
seizures of cash in metro Des Moines history, local authorities have
said. More than three weeks later, investigators are still trying to
determine whether a packet of money disappeared, according to court documents.

"It is better for everyone," as one officer put it, to have witnesses
present through the entire seizure operation. While it may be
"better" to always keep cash in the presence of at least two
officers, protocol for police involved in seizures is not mandated by
state law or policy, said John Quinn of the Iowa Division of Criminal
Investigation.

Case by case "A lot of it goes down on a case-by-case basis," said
Council Bluffs Police Lt. Terry LeMaster, a member of the Southwest
Iowa Narcotics Task Force. "There are procedures on how you handle
evidence. That's why supervisors are called to the scene."

The $781,000-plus was taken from an out-of-state driver who was
stopped near De Soto. Officers contacted for this story said that if
information contained in court documents is accurate, Dallas County
deputies handled the seizure of the money packets appropriately. The
main difference in the Dallas County case, compared with how some
other law enforcement agencies handle such seizures, occurred during
transportation of the cash.

When possible, the best strategy is to send the money with two
officers, LeMaster said, and make "plans ahead of time on where the
money is going to go, where it will be counted."

The money confiscated in Dallas County allegedly vanished between the
time the cash was discovered and the time it arrived at the sheriff's
office, where it wasn't counted until the next day.

Court records show that Sheriff Brian Gilbert transported the cash
after it was removed from the car at a state garage. Agents searched
Gilbert's home last week, but no charges have been filed, nor have
investigators said Gilbert is under investigation.

Policy changes Chief Deputy Kevin Frederick, who has been temporarily
placed in charge of the sheriff's office, said Tuesday that he would
discuss possible changes in evidence policy and procedure with the
county attorney after a state audit of the evidence room was completed.

LeMaster said that when uniformed officers come across large amounts
of money in his jurisdiction, they have to pair up. "It is better for
everyone . . . when there are witnesses involved," he said.

In Dallas County, the driver of the blue Audi stopped along
Interstate Highway 80 near the De Soto exit, Jesus Quinonez-Jimenez
of Stockton, Calif., and the unidentified female passenger signed a
form provided by sheriff's deputies, stating that they did not own
the cash and would not try to claim ownership, court documents said.
LeMaster said that type of waiver is not uncommon.

Usually when a large amount of money is involved, a supervisor is
brought to the scene to decide where the money will be taken and who
will count it, LeMaster said. In Dallas County, several deputies,
some narcotics officers, the sheriff, the chief deputy and some state
transportation workers were in the state garage where the car was searched.

Go to the tape "When dealing with a large amount of bills, we usually
take it to a bank or a nearby casino, a place where there is
videotaping," LeMaster said. "A casino is a good place because they
have money-counting rooms that are videotaped and watched closely.
Then, if a question comes up, we can get the videotape."

Rink, the Cass chief deputy, said that when he found $356,000 hidden
in a vehicle in November, deputies took the money to Ameristar Casino
in Council Bluffs.

"They have one of the fastest counting machines, and it looks for
counterfeits," Rink said. "Taking the money to a casino makes sense
for us, because if a bag is missing, we can get video and check things out."

Ken Carter, director of the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement,
said that depending on when and where a stop is made, officers have
taken seized money to local banks or other law enforcement agencies
for safekeeping until the next morning.

"I only speak from our standpoint, but whether it is money being
counted or drugs weighed and sealed, we do that in pairs, even the
transportation," Carter said.

Carter said people will most likely be hearing about similar traffic
stops on interstates because more law enforcement officers in various
jurisdictions are working the interstates.