State v. Benally

OPINION

NAKAMURA, Justice.

{1} In this case, we hold that when law enforcement officers seized, impounded, and sealed a vehicle, under NMSA 1978, Section 31-27-5(A) (2002, amended 2015), they “ma[de] a seizure” of the currency that the vehicle contained. On June 23, 2011, Gallup police officers seized a vehicle. On June 29, they executed a warrant to search the vehicle and discovered $1295 in currency. The State filed a forfeiture complaint for the $1295 on July 27, which was within thirty days of the search but not within thirty days of the seizure of the vehicle. A provision of the Forfeiture…