Posted on 12/09/2010 7:02:57 AM PST by MissTed
DENVER -- Robin McAnally was arrested in a reverse "john" sting and accused of soliciting for prostitution. From the beginning, he insisted it wasn’t true.
A Denver jury believed him and took just ten minutes to find him not guilty.
McAnally says that was bad enough, but the City of Denver seized his work truck and impounded it, under the city’s nuisance abatement ordinance.
The City of Denver will not release it unless he pays more than $5,000 in impound and other fees.
“I’m not understanding any of this,” he said. “I go all the way and spend money for a lawyer and then I get found not guilty by a jury and they’re still telling me you’re going to have to come up with more money because we’re not going to give your truck back to you.”
He says his 1991 GMC truck isn’t worth $5,000, and he doesn’t have that kind of cash. He says fairness would be for the city to acknowledge he didn’t do anything wrong, he should be able to get his truck out of impound without having to pay any charges.
McAnally was told it doesn’t matter that he was cleared in the criminal case, the truck impound is a civil matter. And unless he comes up with the money, the city will sell his truck at auction and keep the money for itself.
And in the meantime, he would still face a financial judgment filed by the city against him. “I’m not even asking for an ‘I’m sorry that we messed with your life.’ Just give me my truck back. I’m not rich, I can’t go buy another truck,” said McAnally.“I’m just a little guy out there working hard every day of my life.”
FOX31 News was not able to get hold of the City Attorney handling the case, but McAnally’s lawyer says he sees this happen all the time. He says the city is unfairly seizing vehicles, even though a person is cleared of a crime, and making them pay thousands of dollars to get their vehicles back.
Colorado is becoming a blue state.
And in politics, blue is a code word for red... as in pinko.
Local jursidictions turn law enforcement into a profit center. I’m surprised the cops stand for it.
Just another way the government can fine you when you are not guilty!
There is a Founding-Father-approved medicine for the petty tyrants responsible for this travesty. If Mr. McAnally chose to employ it, and I sat on the jury, he would be convicted of no crime.
This is a result of the imaginative application of maritime law on land. They are essentially treating property as booty.
Government “for the people?” Bulldroppings!
Government officials have become petty dictators, exerting their power over the citizens.
Truly liberals are as big a threat as illegal aliens. They foul what ever they touch.
Are you serious? Their salaries partially come out of the plunder. Of course they're for it.
Would love to get my hands on the city attorney’s car. He/she would learn a good lesson.
Looks like this is ripe for him to file aganist the City for FALSE ARREST.
He would have his truck back in about 5 seconds, washed, waxed with a full tank of gas.
Which is precisely why you're being f***** so hard.
I'm not. I also expect a few "law and order" Freepers to tell us why this guy deserves what happened to him.
Thank you libs for proving my point (no common sense!)
He was on a talk radio show this morning, but I didn’t get to hear the complete story, but the undercover cop (female) jumped in his truck and started talking Spanish to him. He doesn’t speak Spanish so didn’t know what she was saying. I was at work at this point so didn’t hear the rest.
He would need an attorney. And Good Luck with that. No attorney will even talk to the man without a thousand bucks up front.
In short... this guy would be like a dollar chasing a dime. He has no legal means of recourse.
Are you serious? Their salaries partially come out of the plunder. Of course they're for it.
There are also those cops(not all but some) that truly enjoy bullying the citizen whenever they can. I got nailed once for a registration that was expired by 1 day (it was a Sunday and I had planed to renew it on Monday.) He pulled me over within sight of my house. I argued that he could watch me drive into my driveway from where he sat and that a tow was not needed but he took my plates and called for a tow of about 1/8 of a mile. I actually consider it a victory that my 15 year old car wasn't impounded. When the tow truck showed up the driver was cited for having his back window tint too dark.
I suspect that if enough people sued cities for false arrest and some large judgements were rendered in their favor this kind of expropriation would stop.
Not sure if a jury would be pissed off enough to go his way, but a lot of people have become really intolerant of over-reaching government.
How about a Zero-Tolerance for False Arrest program on the citizens part?
The cop was wrong. If the expiration date of your tags falls on a non-business day, they have to give you to the next business day to renew them. Cripes, even the IRS allows that.
He won the criminal case, but asset siezure is civil and property has no rights. A lesson well learned from the Drug Warriors.
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