Gowdy v. Gibson - IN REM: $146,050.00 in U.S. Currency
In Gowdy v. Gibson, the S.C. Court of Appeals affirmed the forfeiture of $146,050.00, which was found in a safe in the attic of Gibson's home while executing a search warrant.
A search of the premises outside the house yielded a set of digital scales, a plastic medicine bottle containing 24.4 grams of crack cocaine, and a plastic bag containing 11.7 grams of marijuana. The items were found approximately 140 feet from the location of the safe, concealed under bricks, behind a detached garage located behind the residence.Another search warrant was executed at 420 Farley Street, the location of a building being remodeled by Gibson for use as a beauty salon. A plastic bag containing 713 grams of cocaine was found hidden in the ceiling at that location.
The court found that this was sufficient probable cause for the forfeiture and was distinguishable from Pope v. Gordon, in which the court of appeals found no probable cause where the money was seized from a business account into which proceeds from a car wash were deposited.
Once the state has shown probable cause for a forfeiture, the burden then shifts to the owner to show by a preponderance of the evidence that they were not aware of the use that the money was put to which made it subject to seizure. In this case, Gibson's mother claimed that the money was her life savings from her job; however, she was unable to provide any documentation of the source of the money or rebut the state's evidence that it was connected to drug activity. Also, she did not have access to the safe and did not know its combination.
