DRUG MONEY USED TO FIGHT CRIME

Money Goes To Agency Or School Board

When a suspect is arrested for drug possession, there is a lot more to
consider than what the bond will be.

There is also the question of what to do with any vehicles, cash or
possessions confiscated at the scene of the arrest.

Assistant District Attorney Imelda Pate said if someone is stopped and has
a controlled substance in their car, the vehicle can be impounded.

Sheriff's Capt. Chris Hill said because law enforcement officers often find
drugs in vehicles, they end up seizing cars and trucks fairly often.

The vehicles are held until the case is completed. If the suspect is
convicted of a felony, the district attorney's office asks a judge to
forfeit the property.

The property can go to one of two places, Pate said. For the use and
benefit of the agency that seized the property or to the local school board.

Pate said the vast majority of the time the judge awards the property to
the agency responsible for its seizure.

Last year $457,855 was collected from fines and $267 from forfeitures went
to the Lenoir County School Board, said county finance director Thomas
Hollowell.

Kinston Police Capt. Annette Boyd said when the department is given a
vehicle, it is used for undercover work. If the car is unusable or old, it
is auctioned off and the money goes into a special fund used for law
enforcement.

In 2001 The Kinston Police Department seized 23 cars and $9,763 in alleged
drug money.

Money collected in drug busts is taken by the Internal Revenue Service
after the suspect is convicted.

The agency responsible for the arrest is given 80 percent of the money. If
more than one agency is responsible for the arrest, the money is divided.

Lenoir County Sheriff's Maj. Lester Gosnell said the department has about
$79,000 in an account. The money in the account can only be spent by the
Sheriff W. E. Billy Smith. The Kinston Police Department's money can only
be spent by Kinston Police Chief Scotty Hill.

Gosnell said the money has been used by the sheriff's department for
equipment including a walk-through metal detector and surveillance equipment.

We use the money for a variety of things, mostly surveillance equipment,
and sometimes even buy drugs with it to complete investigations, Hill said.
Some cases a great deal of money is seized, but it's not every day like
some might think.