SEIZURE OF DENTAL JEWELRY STOPPED

Authorities Got Order For 'Grills,' Thinking Them Easily Removed

TACOMA, Wash. - Talk about taking a bite out of crime. Government
lawyers tried to confiscate the gold tooth caps known as "grills"
from the mouths of two men facing drug charges, saying the dental
work qualified as seizable assets.

They had them in a vehicle headed to a dental clinic by the time
defense attorneys persuaded a judge to halt the procedure.

"I've been doing this for over 30 years and I have never heard of
anything like this," said Richard Troberman, a past president of the
Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. "It sounds like
Nazi Germany when they were removing the gold teeth from the bodies,
but at least then they waited until they were dead."

Prosecutors had a warrant to seize the gold dental work, according to
documents and lawyers involved in the case. But they eventually
abandoned the effort, saying they mistakenly thought the grills were
removable. The customized tooth caps, popularized by rappers such as
Nelly, are made of precious metals and jewels and can cost thousands
of dollars for a full set. Some can be snapped onto the teeth, while
others are permanently bonded to the teeth. Flenard Neal and Donald
Jamar Lewis have permanently bonded grills, their lawyers said.

Neal and Lewis, both charged with several drug and weapon violations,
were taken Tuesday from the Federal Detention Center to the U.S.
marshal's office, where they were told the government had a warrant
to seize the grills. They called their lawyers as they were about to
be taken to a dentist, said Miriam Schwartz, Neal's public defender.
"Asset forfeiture is a fairly routine procedure, and our attorneys
were under the impression that these snapped out like a retainer,"
said Emily Langlie, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in
Seattle. The defense lawyers criticized what they said was a
clandestine attempt to have the grills removed.

Langlie and court clerks said seizure warrants are typically sealed
to prevent defendants from trying to move or hide valuables and
evidence. They become public with the filing of a return that shows
what was seized.