Steven Lara was driving cross-country to visit his daughters in California when the Nevada Highway Patrol confiscated his entire life savings of $87,000 in a seemingly routine traffic stop. It was done.
”“At that moment, I knew this was not the place to fight this battle. I had to stay calm,” Lara, a 42-year-old Marine veteran, told Fox News.
It took Lara seven months to get his money back from the government, but the fight to stop law enforcement from receiving kickbacks for seizing the property of suspected but untried Americans continues. ing.
Nearly three years later, a new ruling denying Nevada's motion to dismiss the case breathes new life into Lara's fight for innocence.
“It's absolutely egregious that our county, local, state and federal governments conspire with each other to take assets away from the people they are meant to serve,” Lara said. “I've already gotten my money back, but that doesn't solve the problem.”
“I'm going to see this through until we succeed and win,” he added.
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Lara retired from the Marine Corps in 2016 after 16 years of service, including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. During the pandemic, Lara moved in with her elderly parents in Lubbock, Texas, but drove four days each month to visit her two teenage daughters, who live with her ex-wife in a small California town outside Reno, Nevada. went out.
In February 2021, with about an hour left on his drive, a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper pulled Lara over, saying he was following the car in front of him too closely, body camera footage showed.
The officer praised Lara for driving safely and then asked him to get out of the car and begin questioning him.
“He stopped me for getting too close to the truck and before I knew it I was out of the car and they searched my belongings and asked me a bunch of questions if I had any. dead bodies, drugs, anything illegal,” Lara said. “So I thought, 'What's going on here?'
The FBI took her life savings. She is now fighting to help others take back what is theirs.
Lara told police that he had money in his car, saying, “I keep my money myself because I don't trust banks.'' He had them search his car, where they found $87,000 along with bank receipts and pay stubs.
After further questioning, the officers told Lara that because they suspected Lara's funds were related to drug crimes, they would use civil asset forfeiture, which allows the government to seize and preserve suspect property, to seize it. He said he was handing over the drug to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). connected to criminal activity.
Lara said she felt “a combination of confusion and anger” as the situation escalated, “but at the same time I knew I had to remain calm.”
The FBI said forfeiture is an important tool to “disrupt and dismantle criminal and terrorist organizations and punish criminals” as well as “compensate victims and protect communities.”
“Forfeiture also serves as a deterrent to others who may be considering criminal activity.” the FBI wrote In 2017.
Marine Corps veteran Steven Lara is taking legal action against the Nevada Highway Patrol after his $87,000 nest egg was seized using civil forfeiture's fair share practices. There is. (Institute of Justice)
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Nevada is one of many states with limits on civil forfeiture, requiring clear and convincing evidence that property is related to a crime before it can be forfeited to the government, but “equitable distribution.” The program allows state and local law enforcement agencies to partner. Consulting with federal authorities regarding forfeiture.
In such cases, the restriction can be circumvented. After federal authorities seize property, they can return up to 80% of the proceeds to state authorities.
About an hour after being pulled over, Lara was robbed of all of her life savings. He was left on the side of the road without enough money to pay for gas. He was not charged with a crime.
“I don't think these people could have pulled a worse person, because I'm not going to back down from this,” Lara told Fox News. . “I knew I would get my money back. I just had to figure out how to get it back.”
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The DEA missed deadlines required by state law to either charge Lara with a crime, file a civil suit for forfeiture of the property, or return the money within six months of seizure.
Six months later, Lara, working with the Institute for Justice, filed a complaint in court to sue the Nevada Highway Patrol over the seizure and to get the DEA to return the money. The DEA agreed to return Lara's money the next day, according to the Institute of Justice.
”“Stephen lost his savings for the better part of a year while the government continued to hold onto it, and because there was no evidence of a crime, he had to sue to get it back,” Judicial Research said. said attorney Ben. “But for most people, they don't have the resources to do that,” Field told Fox News.
“The government relies on people not asserting their constitutional rights to maintain funding,” he added.
Lara maintains her lawsuit against the Nevada Highway Patrol, alleging that her rights under the Nevada Constitution were violated, seeking damages, a declaration that the seizure was without just cause, and NHP's fair share. She is seeking a restraining order prohibiting her from exercising the law.
“Mr. Lara is seeking a declaration from the court that Nevada law enforcement must respect the Nevada Constitution and cannot circumvent the protections of Nevada law simply by handing over funds to the federal government.”Field he said.
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The case was put on hold in March after the state filed a motion to dismiss, but last Thursday, Nevada's 2nd Judicial District Court denied the motion.
“The government maintained that there was no way for someone like Ms. Lara to prove her rights in court,” Field said. “And the court said, 'No, that's wrong.'”
Lara said he is “fully hopeful of success” as the case is reopened and moves toward trial, but that as a result of this experience he has “lost complete faith and confidence in law enforcement.” .
“The person that was trying to take my money was the very government that I would give my life to,” he told Fox News. “They tried to take my livelihood away from me and my children. That's something bad for you.”
Neither the DEA nor the Nevada Highway Patrol responded to requests for comment.
