Man gets I-5 speeding ticket, loses a quarter-million dollars

Seattle Times ^ | September 25, 2007 | Seattle Times staff

[Daffynition]

Driving 11 miles over the speed limit cost one driver more than a quarter-million dollars this weekend — at least for now.

A State Patrol trooper spotted a Honda Accord speeding southbound on Interstate 5 on Friday, according to State Patrol spokesman Jeff Merrill. It was raining, and the driver was cruising down the freeway at 71 mph. So the trooper pulled the driver over, Merrill said.

The 35-year-old from British Columbia, who had a valid driver's license, struggled to tell the trooper where he was going and how long he had been in Washington, prompting the trooper to search his car, Merrill said.

The trooper found two suitcases in the trunk — one filled with $276,640 in cash. The driver claimed he won the stacks of dollar bills at 23 casinos in Washington, California and Nevada, but he was unable to produce any receipts, according to Merrill.

[Half Vast Conspiracy]

IIRC, late Sept. is harvest time in KY,TN and WV...not sure about BC though.

Oh, the things I learn on FR!

[Daffynition]

I hear ya ... times like this when you’re boxed into agreeing with the ACLU ... **sigh.**

[Leatherneck_MT]

“What a lovely policy.”

That’s called assuming your guilty until they prove you’re innocent.

[Roccus]

Just saw it on a TV show about Hillbillies. (History Channel?)

[Rb ver. 2.0]

LEO took $3,000 cash from a friend’s son when he got pulled in Texas last year.

[Wallace T.]

What is interesting in this case is that the cop stopped the motorist while it was raining. It is a pretty rare occurrence for police to issue speeding tickets in the rain, at least in Texas. The increased risk of accidents during a rainstorm and the discomfort factor for the lawman are the major reasons. Driving 71 mph on a freeway signed for 60 would not seem overly hazardous, unless the rainfall was heavy. There may have been another reason, such as erratic driving, that caused the officer to pull over the motorist.

[Francis McClobber]

The guy the cop pulled over is a foreigner. Asking where he is going is a legitimate question.

[Deguello]

Maybe he earned it by switching his car insurance over to Geico?

[GreenAccord]

In 2001, I was at a craps table (in Vegas) standing next to a diminutive fellow in jeans and a golf shirt who won $50,000 on consecutive rolls of 11-7-11. He received no receipt that I saw.

[djf]

What happens in Vegas...

[Daffynition]

Isn't there always rain of some sort falling in western WA?

[sauropod]

Let me guess... The money was confiscated as part of the “War on Drugs.”

We are fast losing our freedoms, folks.

[Daffynition]

Bears repeating... We are fast losing our freedoms, folks.
We are fast losing our freedoms, folks.
We are fast losing our freedoms, folks.

We're frogs in the pot ...

[L98Fiero]

“What a lovely policy.”

Yep. Guilty until proven innocent. Pathetic.

[L98Fiero]

“IIRC, late Sept. is harvest time in KY,TN and WV...not sure about BC though.”

Don’t forget Louisiana. They like to snag people’s money as they travel I-10.

[The SISU kid]

WA ping???

[sionnsar]

Thanks to The SISU kid for the ping. (Sorry for the delay; I have been traveling.)

Say WA? Evergreen State ping

FReepmail sionnsar if you want on or off this ping list.

Ping sionnsar if you see a Washington state related thread.

[Kevmo]

We’re wild pigs, gettin’ some free corn, watching the fence get built.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1899897/posts

[Daffynition]

I like! Thanks for the link.

[KoRn]

Having cash must be probable cause....

Stories like this anger me to no end.