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highway-828985_1920-300x200Between 2016 and 2017, police officers in Phelps County, Missouri seized over $2.5 million during traffic stops along a 20-mile stretch of I-44. Law enforcement did not file any criminal charges for those seizures.

The property was taken using a legal procedure known as civil asset forfeiture. This controversial procedure allows law enforcement to seize an individual’s property if said property is suspected of being involved in a crime.

In criminal procedures, proof “beyond a reasonable doubt” is required to gain a conviction. As civil asset forfeiture is a civil and not a criminal process, the standard of proof required to permanently take property is usually lower. In Missouri, all that is required is “a preponderance of the evidence.”
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apple-blur-book-stack-256520-300x199Miami-Dade Public Schools employee Victor Brantley was arrested on April 9 for allegedly engaging in sexual relations with a 15-year-old boy.

Brantley, 45, is listed as an IT specialist at South Dade Senior High School. He faces charges that include lewd and lascivious battery, using a computer service arrange travel to meet a minor, and transmitting child pornography.

He was booked into Miami-Dade jail and was ordered held on $35,000 bond. He has since been released. The press did not name an attorney for him.

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boston-3690818_1920-300x200A construction company owner in Massachusetts has been indicted for allegedly concealing payroll in order to reduce his workers’ compensation insurance premiums by tens of thousands of dollars.

Anner Valentin Amaya, age 45, of Revere, a city north of Boston, is the owner of Valetin’s General Contractors Inc. which also does business as Valentin’s Home Improvement. His company has worked on home renovations in the Boston and Cape Cod areas. The Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts began looking into Amaya’s business practices before referring the investigation to the state Attorney General’s Office.
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asphalt-automobile-automotive-125514-300x169Joseph Franco of Aventura, Florida was arrested on March 27 for allegedly being high on nitrous oxide when he ran over and killed Amir Pelleg, and injured his wife and daughters.

Franco, 27, is charged with DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide, three counts of reckless driving with serious bodily injury, and three counts of DUI causing serious injury. He was ordered held on $77,500 bond. The press did not name an attorney for him.

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aggressive-anger-angry-163431-300x200Mexican telenovela star Pablo Lyle is accused of punching and knocking out 63-year-old Juan Ricardo Hernandez in a Miami street on March 31.

Lyle was arrested on Monday morning by Miami police and charged with battery. He posted $5,000 bond Monday and was given permission to fly back to Mexico. Attorney information was not immediately available.

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