Fifty-Six Thousand, Seven Hundred Dollars in United States Currency v. State

710 S.W.2d 65, 1986 Tex. App. LEXIS 12174
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 12, 1986
Docket08-84-00331-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 710 S.W.2d 65 (Fifty-Six Thousand, Seven Hundred Dollars in United States Currency v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fifty-Six Thousand, Seven Hundred Dollars in United States Currency v. State, 710 S.W.2d 65, 1986 Tex. App. LEXIS 12174 (Tex. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinions

OPINION

SCHULTE, Justice.

This is an appeal from a judgment of forfeiture, the court below finding the sum of $56,700.00 in United States currency to [67]*67be subject to forfeiture under Article 4476-15 Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. (Controlled Substances Act) (Vernon Supp.1986). We affirm.

Pursuant to a search warrant, on June 29, 1984, the following items were seized in the apartment of Harry Farah at the places therein indicated and were received in evidence:

In the office portion of the apartment: in a desk drawer:
White envelope containing marihuana.
Vial with cocaine residue.
Brown wood box containing gold plated scale kit.
In the kitchen of the apartment:
Two syringes.
In the vault-like walk-in closet-bathroom combination with a dead-bolted steel door:
In the bathroom portion in the safe inside a cabinet next to the sink:
Vial with over three grams of cocaine.
Money totalling $56,700.00.
In the bathroom portion in a locked drawer:
Student I.D. card from Texas A & M bearing name of Harry Farah.
Two statements to Harry M. Farah from Merrill-Lynch.
Jar with cocaine.
Bags containing vials.
Grinder used for blending, with cocaine residue.
Powder similar to Anositol powder.
Vial with custom top and cocaine spoon with cocaine residue.
Two amber vials with residue.
Seven vials with cocaine residue.
Snorting tubes with cocaine residue.
Pill bottle with cocaine residue.
Paraphernalia — mirror.
Amber pill bottles.
Paper fold with cocaine residue.
Two zip-lock baggies with cocaine residue.
In the bathroom portion either in a locked drawer or in an adjacent cabinet:
Jar with cocaine
Another jar with cocaine.
Cutting agent, Anositol powder.
Plastic vial with cocaine residue.
In the closet portion of the vault inside a suitcase on a shelf:
A name tag from Dallas Market Center bearing name of Harry Farah.
Kit with box, scales, etc., as used by distributors or dealers of cocaine.
Grinder with quantity of cocaine on it.
Box containing thirteen Dilaudid pills — pharmaceutical type of heroin.
Zip-lock baggie with quantity of cocaine.
White bottle containing marihuana.
Paper folds as used for sniffing or sale of cocaine with residue.
Glass vial with cocaine residue.
A magazine article from Esquire entitled “Cocaine, You Can Bank On It.”
Two baggies containing marihuana.
Sixteen amber glass vials and plastic, some with residue.
300-400 one gram vials without residue — not used.
Glass bottle with four Dilaudid pills.
Bottle with contents marked “Black
Bombers, Black Mollys, Heavy Driving Speed.”
Amber bottle with pills.
In apartment — specific place not clear: Two funnels with cocaine residue.
Two containers of Anositol cutting powder.

Mike Tibuni, a lieutenant in the Narcotics Division who participated in the search, testified without objection that he located approximately a thousand photographs in Farah’s apartment. The photographs were not offered or received in evidence. He said he inspected about twenty percent of the photographs. A number of them appeared to have been taken in the apartment, mainly in the bedroom. Some depicted marihuana and cocaine usage involving young men, “young boys involved with narcotics. ...”

Mr. Rudd, a supervising chemist with the Texas Department of Public Safety, testi[68]*68fied. He stated that the substance in the glass jar, which was found in the safe with the money, was determined to be cocaine with a net weight of 3.187 grams. The substance in the jar, located in the bathroom, contained cocaine with a net weight of 17.065 grams. Another jar, found in the bathroom, contained cocaine in the amount of 20.129 grams. The vials in the bag, found in the bathroom, in two separate samplings, contained .82 grams and 1.881 grams of cocaine, respectively. He testified that the 20.129 gram sample was ninety-seven percent pure as was the .82 gram sample. The purity of the 1.881 gram sample was thirty-six percent. A vial found in the bathroom proved cocaine content in the amount of .1555 grams. Other exhibits testified to contained only traces of cocaine. In regard to the amber pill bottles located in the bathroom, the content was determined to be pharmaceutical pills and tablets including Oxycodone, Methaqual-one, 'methylphenidate, amphetamine, Mep-rodine, phenmetrazine Diazepam and methamphetamine. The white envelope found in the desk drawer in the office was determined to contain 10.59 grams of marihuana. The grinder, found in the suitcase, contained cocaine powder weighing .29 grams, thirty-one percent pure. The pills in the box, found in the suitcase, were analyzed as Dilaudid. The zip-lock baggie, located in the suitcase, contained .404 grams cocaine, ninety-six percent pure. The white bottle, located in the suitcase, contained 12.56 grams of marihuana. A glass bottle, located in the suitcase, contained Dilaudid. The amber pill bottle, located in the suitcase, contained phenmetra-zine.

In summary, Rudd calculated that the cocaine found could have been cut or diluted to “respectable street cocaine” to produce between 80 and 85 grams, assuming twenty-five percent purity. Detective Bog-dan testified to a gram being a popular sale amount with a gram bringing $150.00 and a half-gram $80.00 to $90.00.

That the paraphernalia seized was commonly used to prepare and package drugs for sale was established by the State’s evidence. A notice of seizure and intention to forfeit was filed July 13, 1984. Hearings were held on August 15 and 22, 1984. At the hearings, in defense, several people testified that Mr. Farah had contracted with them for goods and services to be used in remodeling a hotel and bar in Juarez, Mexico. Mr. Carranza Martinez testified that he was employed by the owner of the hotel/bar to act as an interpreter for him in dealing with Mr. Farah. He testified that from time to time the owner gave him cash to take to Mr. Farah to pay for the goods and services.

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710 S.W.2d 65, 1986 Tex. App. LEXIS 12174, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fifty-six-thousand-seven-hundred-dollars-in-united-states-currency-v-texapp-1986.