Fresno County Sheriff’s deputies stopped two men 112 miles south
of Gilroy on Interstate 5 earlier this month and found $50,000 in
drug-linked cash in the engine compartment, but neither occupant
was arrested, according to Deputy Christian Curtice.
Fresno County Sheriff’s deputies stopped two men 112 miles south of Gilroy on Interstate 5 earlier this month and found $50,000 in drug-linked cash in the engine compartment, but neither occupant was arrested, according to Deputy Christian Curtice.
Just before midnight March 2, deputies from the Sheriff’s Community Crime Response Team working an assignment near I-5 and Dorris Avenue in Fresno County pulled over a newer model Honda for traffic violations. Deputy Curtice, who was not on the scene, said he did not have information on the type of traffic violation and he would not comment on whether police obtained probable cause or received permission from the “extremely nervous” looking occupants.
Neither party was ever placed under arrest, but officers determined that they were from southern California and had received $300 to pick up the cash in Gilroy, according to a press release. The men were returning to southern California when deputies stopped them with the cash allegedly generated from illegal drug sales.
“All we had were their statements – not enough to arrest them on anything,” Curtice said.
Officials have not identified either man, both of whom denied owning the money, and have since referred the case to the Gilroy Police Department, Curtice said. Authorities gave the men a receipt for the cash, which they will hold onto until its rightful owner claims it and can prove its legal generation.
