Confiscated cash in traffic stop goes unclaimed

Law enforcement in Washington state has received a quarter-million-dollar windfall — thanks to an unusual traffic stop in Seattle.

No one came forward to claim more than $276,000 in cash confiscated from a speeding driver by a State Patrol trooper, so 90 percent of the money will go to a special fund to help law enforcement combat illegal drugs. The remainder will go into the state's general fund.

The money was seized from a 35-year-old British Columbia man on Sept. 21 after he couldn't provide a good explanation of why he had a suitcase filled with stacks of small bills.

The Patrol later mailed the driver a certified letter telling him how to file a claim for his seized cash, but it didn't receive a response by Tuesday's deadline, said Detective Rick Johnson.

The cash is now the property of the state — the largest seizure by the State Patrol in nearly five years, Johnson said.

"Usually when something like this happens we get people yelling and screaming: 'That's my money,' " Johnson said. "Here, we have no one calling us. No attorney, no nothing. It's definitely surprising we haven't had a claim."

A trooper monitoring Interstate 5 in Seattle stopped the British Columbia man near Northgate Mall for driving 11 mph over the speed limit. When questioned, he struggled to explain where he was going and how long he had been in Washington state, according to the Patrol.

Suspicious, the trooper was granted permission to search the man's Honda Accord. When the trooper found the suitcase containing $276,640 in U.S. currency, the man said he won it at 23 casinos in Washington, California and Nevada, said Patrol spokesman Jeff Merrill.

The trooper suspected the money came from drug proceeds and confiscated the cash until it could be determined whether it was obtained lawfully. The trooper gave the man a warning about speeding and released him.

"The guy kept changing his stories. It just didn't add up," Merrill said.

The Patrol is still trying to find out where the cash came from, Johnson said.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com