Court rules gov’t can keep money seized in drug bust, even after suspect acquitted

Jan 2nd, 2019 · by Craig Anderson

DOVER — A Dover man acquitted of drug charges and convicted of weapons offenses was denied in an attempt to regain $13,584 seized during a search warrant execution at his home in 2015, according to a Superior Court ruling issued last week.

Jeffrey Crippen was not entitled to three bundles of cash seized by Dover Police due to lack of documentation and proof that the money was legitimately earned, President Judge William L. Witham Jr. asserted in a 16-page order, .

While Crippen claimed in a 2017 petition that he received all the funds two years earlier, he testified at trial that some of the money was received as early as 2012 through work and personal loans, according to the Court.

The petitioner could not document a supposed $5,000 personal loan allegedly received, the court said, nor a business it was purportedly intended for, the judge determined. There was no evidence to support an alleged second $5,000 personal loan as well, the order stated.

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