By STEPHANIE VETTENBURG-SHAFFER

McKean County District Attorney

( Editor’s note: The information in this special series is for educational purposes only and is not intended to address any particular case, nor should any articles be taken as legal advice. Always consult with an attorney on any legal matter.)

I was recently asked if people get their property back after their case is resolved. My answer was, “Generally, yes.”

Usually when someone is arrested, the personal property on them when they were arrested is kept in a secured location either at the police department where they were arrested or at the jail. This usually involves wallets and cell phones.

But if evidence of a crime was found on them or in their car or residence, a different analysis is applied. The case most commonly thought of is one involving drug sales. These cases often involve search warrants, money, weapons and a location where drugs are sold or a vehicle used to transport drugs to be sold.

These and other crimes that provide for a harsh punishment are the most common cases where we will seek to forfeit property.

In addition to punishment for committing a crime in the form of incarceration or fines, an offender may be faced with the loss of the property he used to commit the crime or money if he violates his bail.

Pennsylvania provides for the forfeiture of such property. Forfeiture serves two purposes – it is an additional punishment to an offender (and deterrent to others) and it provides funds to fight crime.

There are two main statutes that govern forfeiture in Pennsylvania. One statute deals with property used to commit drug crimes specifically. Property used to commit drug crimes can include vehicles and real estate and we have forfeited both from offenders in McKean County. It is important to note that the “punishment must fit the crime,” so to speak, and the law requires that we balance the maximum penalty and fine allowed for the particular crime in comparison to the value of the property. We cannot forfeit a house or car in every drug case but we can in those cases where the house or vehicle are repeatedly used to commit crimes or are used to facilitate a large-scale sale of illegal drugs.

In cases where we have seized real estate or vehicles in McKean County, the offenders were using the properties to facilitate their drug-dealing and more than one drug delivery was tied to the property. We come into property a number of ways. It may have been seized by police after they executed a search warrant; a court may have ordered that the property is forfeited to us because it was used to facilitate a crime; if there is cause to believe that the property is dangerous to health and safety or it is likely to be destroyed or removed or made unavailable for forfeiture if not seized immediately; or if there is probable cause to believe that the property has been used or is intended to be used in violation of the drug act.

The following items are included in the list of items that the commonwealth can seize: (1) The most obvious is drug paraphernalia and illegal drugs. These items are destroyed by law enforcement unless they are entered into evidence during a trial, in which case they are retained where evidence is kept.

(2) All raw materials and equipment intended for use in manufacturing or selling drugs.

(3) All vehicles including aircraft and cars intended for use to transport drugs.

(4) Money or other things of value furnished by any person in exchange for illegal drugs and all proceeds traceable to such an exchange.

(5) Real property used or intended to be used to facilitate any violation of the drug statute.

(6) Money found in close proximity to illegal drugs.

(7) Firearms used or intended for use to facilitate a violation of the drug statute.

It’s worth noting that all firearms found in close proximity to illegally possessed drugs are rebuttably presumed to be used or intended to be used to facilitate a violation of the drug act. All weapons forfeited due to their use during a drug crime are required to be destroyed by law enforcement.

Except for items that are destroyed, such as drugs, drug paraphernalia or weapons used to commit drug crimes as required by the statute, property forfeited can be sold and used to fight crime and items that were forfeited because they were used to sell drugs are sold and used for the enforcement of — or prevention of — a violation of the drug statute.

We also seek forfeiture of money when an offender fails to appear or flees to avoid his trial. This money comes either from the offender himself, if he posted the money himself or a bail bondsman if a bondsman posted bond for him. The money can be used to offset the actual cost incurred by the offender’s actions, such as the cost to extradite him back to McKean County or to pay jury fees if he failed to appear at his trial after jurors arrived.

While we have to balance the seriousness of the crime committed and the maximum penalty so that the seizure is not considered an excessive penalty, forfeiture is a tool that we use and we have used successfully.