OLYMPIA — The Washington Supreme Court has ordered Sunnyside police to return a man’s car and nearly $6,000 in cash, saying there was insufficient evidence the property was connected to drug trafficking.
The justices were unanimous in their decision Thursday, which overturned a state Court of Appeals ruling.
The case involved the arrest of Andreas Gonzalez, who had a small amount of cocaine and nearly $6,000 in cash when he was pulled over for speeding in 2013. He wasn’t the registered owner of the car, a BMW with California plates, and police suspect that he had been paid to make a drug shipment.
But Gonzalez told them he had just bought the car and had the cash because he was paying back a friend who loaned him money for the purchase.
Justice Mary Yu said there wasn’t enough evidence for police to seize the car and cash as drug-trafficking proceeds.
