You don't have to be a drug dealer for police in York County to seize your car

• York County leads the state in taking vehicles through forfeiture, when you adjust for population size.
• Law enforcement is using forfeiture to take property from people for relatively minor offenses.
• People who were never charged with a crime have had items taken from them.
• Prosecutors have tied money and property into plea agreements.

Ashley Owens’ brother wanted more heroin, so he made a phone call.

The buy was a setup. Police arrested Robert Cummings at a gas station on South Queen Street in York Township. He was charged with possession of a controlled substance.

The criminal complaint doesn’t mention Owens or her husband’s 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer. She had been in the restroom when her brother got arrested — and was never charged with a crime, she said.

It didn’t matter. Prosecutors tried to keep the car anyway — multiple times. 

Their aggressive approach illustrates how the York County District Attorney’s Office, through a process called civil asset forfeiture, takes vehicles at the highest rate in Pennsylvania. Through six years of drug investigations, the office took in about $4.4 million in cash and property, which ranks near the top of the state. That includes almost $900,000 from selling vehicles.

District Attorney Tom Kearney said the original intent of forfeiture was to hit the bad guys in their wallets, preventing drug dealers from flaunting “Ferraris and fancy coats” and giving ideas to kids in the “ghetto.” The money, he said, helps put cops on the street and pay for drug treatment.

“Is it going to be the taxpayers, you know, to pay for enforcement or treatment, or is it going to be the bad guys?” Kearney said.

But critics of forfeiture, including state Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon County, say that a process designed to take down drug kingpins has been used against ordinary people in “horrifying” ways.

A York Daily Record/Sunday News investigation of the district attorney’s office’s sweeping use of civil asset forfeiture shows:

• York County leads the state in taking vehicles through forfeiture, when you adjust for population size. In fact, even in raw numbers, it reported taking more vehicles than Philadelphia, Allegheny and Montgomery counties combined in fiscal year 2015-16.
• Law enforcement is using the power to take property from people for relatively minor offenses, including a woman who lost her Jeep because she tried to buy about $150 worth of cocaine, and a man who lost his car and $852 because police said they found drug paraphernalia in his home. 
• When police take relatively small amounts of cash, it can cost more to go to court than a person is trying to get back.
• People who were never charged with a crime have had items taken from them.
• Prosecutors sometimes make people give up their money and property as part of plea agreements. 

More:Car found with 1 1/2 pounds of pot is her gain, his loss in York County auction

More:Cops can take and keep your stuff, even if you're not convicted. A Dover man fought back.

Only Philadelphia took more vehicles through forfeiture than York County between fiscal years 2010-11 and 2015-16, according to Asset Forfeiture Reports. 

Those are just raw numbers.

When you adjust for population size, York County takes more vehicles and receives more money from selling them than any other county in the state. Some are seized through major drug investigations, including Operation Sunrise, a recent 1 1/2-year investigation in which police arrested members of the Latin Kings, Crips and Bloods.

But what happened to Michelle Frey shows how prosecutors are taking vehicles in more routine cases. 

In 2015, Frey was driving in Springettsbury Township when police stopped and charged her with driving under the influence and related offenses. The passenger, who police said had marijuana in his pockets and one of his socks, was also arrested. 

Police took $314 from Frey as well as her 2003 Nissan Maxima.

The passenger, Keith Garner, originally faced a drug-dealing charge, but was later offered a plea deal for possession of a small amount of marijuana. He got one month of probation. Frey pleaded guilty to DUI and driving while her license was suspended.

In the forfeiture case, prosecutors alleged that Frey was arrested for possession of marijuana and hydrocodone, an opioid. But she wasn’t charged with drug possession. 

More than two years later, Frey, 50, went to the York County Judicial Center to see if she could get anything back. She did not have an attorney. 

The hearing was scheduled for 3 p.m. on a Monday. She waited through a sentencing for a 71-year-old man who was found guilty of assaulting his third ex-wife and a hearing for a man who admitted to strangling his girlfriend.

Eventually, at about 5 p.m., it was her turn. A prosecutor offered her a deal: She could keep the $314, but would have to give up the car.

Frey took the deal. The prosecution, she said, told her that there was a good chance she'd have to pay for storage costs if she contested forfeiture. She thought those could be more than $20,000.

“It’s not at all worth it,” she said in an interview.

Kyle King, a spokesman for the district attorney's office, said prosecutors wouldn't comment on Frey's case or provide details about storage costs.

In an interview, Kearney said he didn’t know how much individuals have to pay for storage costs. 

If people successfully fight off forfeiture, Kearney said, their defense attorneys should get a judge to put those fees on the prosecution. “If we seize a vehicle and we’re not entitled to keep it, then we ought to eat the storage costs,” he said.

The law, he said, allows police to seize items that are connected to or are the proceeds of drug crimes.

Back in 1988, when the Legislature expanded civil asset forfeiture, lawmakers mostly talked about going after drug dealers. One legislator talked about “drug gangs” killing people in Philadelphia.

Another lawmaker, then-state Rep. Jeffrey Piccola, said he hoped that the risk of losing a vehicle would also lessen the demand for drugs.

The theory behind civil asset forfeiture — that it has a “chilling effect” on crime and prevents people from enjoying their “ill-gotten gains” — is great, said Chris Ferro, a defense attorney in York.

“But the reality is, there’s not a single criminal defendant that I’ve dealt with in the last 15 years who has ever contemplated the possibility of losing their car if they sell drugs,” Ferro said. “I mean, they’re not aware of it, they’re not cognizant of it, they’re certainly not thinking of it when they’re engaging in that particular lifestyle.”

RELATED:District attorney candidates eye forfeiture money for York County Drug Treatment Court

When legislators debated expanding civil asset forfeiture on the House floor in 1988, Piccola said law enforcement needed to seize cash, vehicles and other items. Drug dealers, he said, use them to “hire high-priced attorneys to get them off and to continue their criminal activity.”

If drug dealers did not have those resources, Piccola said, they would be left with public defenders.

But many times, people aren’t accused of dealing drugs. Instead, they’re facing relatively minor charges that are typically punishable by probation or fines.

For example:

Stacey Gladwin:

A confidential informant arranged to sell about $150 worth of cocaine to Stacey Gladwin. She sent her boyfriend to pick up the drugs at a gas station in York Township. Police took her 2003 Jeep Cherokee. 

Gladwin, 48, pleaded guilty to attempted possession of a controlled substance. She was fined $200 and ordered to pay court costs. Gladwin’s family unsuccessfully contested forfeiture of the Jeep.

Cody Stauffer:

Northern York County Regional police found drug paraphernalia in a home and in Cody Stauffer’s bedroom. They took $852 and his 1998 Ford Escort.

Stauffer, 23, of West Manchester Township, pleaded guilty to possession of drug paraphernalia. He was fined $200 and ordered to pay more than $600 in court costs.

He initially contested the forfeiture, but later gave up the money and the car. Prosecutors agreed to return the “loose contents” in the vehicle, according to court documents.

Edward London Jr.:

The Fairview Township Police Department got called to a motel for a man who was unconscious in a room.

Edward London Jr. was lying on his back and shaking. Police said they discovered a plastic bag containing cocaine.

London, 32, of Steelton, pleaded guilty to possession. He was fined $200 and ordered to pay about $800 in costs. Police confiscated $141 and a cellphone. 

Ryan Lowery: 

York Area Regional police arrested Ryan Lowery, 38, of Red Lion, during a drug investigation and seized $101.

“I was purchasing heroin to support my addiction,” Lowery said when he pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance by a person not registered.

Stephon Meekins:

Stephon Meekins and a friend were pulled over on Interstate 83. Fairview Township police seized $337 and a cellphone from Meekins.

Meekins, 35, of Baltimore, eventually pleaded guilty to possession of a small amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. He did so in exchange for paying a $400 fine and more than $600 in court costs, but maintained in an interview that the drugs didn’t belong to him.

He didn’t fight the forfeiture.

“I didn’t have time to keep going up to Pennsylvania,” he said.

Meekins said he worked as a bail bondsman, which is where he got the money.

'We try and make a judgment call' 

Kearney wouldn’t discuss specific cases. Sometimes, he said, “there are circumstances present, which are not always represented by the statistics, which would justify a seizure.” He wouldn’t give examples. 

Police are “down in the weeds” and “know who’s doing what and how it’s going down,” Kearney said. His employees, he said, review cases and determine if they’re appropriate.

“You try and make calls as fair as you can,” he said. “If it results in some people who are charged with somewhat minor offenses being nailed, then so be it.”

In York County, he said, police are not taking houses, a practice that's sparked outrage in Philadelphia. And, of course, prosecutors need to get approval from a judge to keep items. 

While the district attorney’s office tends to be aggressive and is a “well-oiled, efficient machine” when it comes to civil asset forfeiture, that does not mean it’s being improperly used, said Joe Gothie, a defense attorney in York.

“If they get money out of forfeitures, a vast majority of the time, there’s not much to fight over. It’s legitimate. It’s well-executed,” Gothie said. “I don’t think York is abusive just because it happens a lot here.”

MORE COVERAGE OF FORFEITURE:Dover Township man, subject of civil asset forfeiture story, has record expunged

When the district attorney’s office tried to keep cash, more than half of the time it was less than $430, according to a York Daily Record analysis of cases filed in 2015. 

Some of those cases involved property as well. Court records do not indicate how much items are worth.

A lot of times, “it’s just not financially worth going after the money,” said Christopher Moore, a defense attorney in York.

“Why would you pay me $1,000 on a 50-50 chance you’re going to get $2,000?” Moore said. “You have the same odds of going to the casino and putting the same money you’re paying me on black.”

“And it would be more fun," he added.

Steven Stine had to make that decision.

During a traffic stop, Southwestern Regional police said they saw a pipe and smelled marijuana.

Stine admitted to selling drugs, police said, and they seized $136. In an interview, he denied making that statement, saying he “never was, never will be” a drug dealer.

Later, Stine pleaded guilty to two counts of DUI — he picked up the second while out on bail — and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. His sentence included five years on probation, with 10 days in York County Prison and 90 days on house arrest.

Under the plea agreement, prosecutors dropped the charge of possession with intent to deliver marijuana.

“I worked hard for that money. And it was taken away from me for God-knows-whatever reason they want to say,” said Stine, 23, of Hellam Township, who’s a laborer.

Stine learned that it would cost more in legal fees than he was fighting to get back. So he gave up.

In Pennsylvania, there’s no right to counsel in civil asset forfeiture cases. That means people likely have to hire private attorneys, who would typically charge at least several hundred dollars.

The York County Public Defender’s Office handles more than half of the new criminal cases filed each year.  It does not represent people for civil asset forfeiture. 

Most people don't fight back.

People who are awaiting trial in jail often have to use what resources they have to prioritize their freedom, said Sandra Thompson, a solo practitioner in York.

“They often forgo that right, just because they can’t deal with it,” she said. “They’re overwhelmed with the power of the state.”

READ:Pennsylvania lawmaker invites Trump to 'destroy' his career

In 2015, Kearney advocated against a bill that would have required prosecutors to get a criminal conviction before they could keep items through forfeiture. The proposal didn't pass. But earlier this year, Kearney supported another reform bill that raised the burden of proof in these cases. (More on that later.) 

The York Daily Record found local cases in which people were either not charged with, or not convicted of, a crime related to the forfeiture case.But they still lost money and property. 

In one case, the York City Police Department came to Tayshonna Bolden’s apartment with a warrant for a man who was there staying the night. She let them inside and was arrested.

Bolden, 24, a waitress who lives in York, was later released without criminal charges.

Police seized $4,650 and a cellphone from the man. Bolden said when she looked in her wallet, she found that her money was also taken. Prosecutors asked to keep $75 from her.

“It’s not like I was doing illegal things,” said Bolden, who had been working as a forklift operator at the time. “I work hard.”

She never got the money back.

Remember Owens and her husband's 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer? Here's what happened next: 

When prosecutors tried to keep the car, they alleged that Owens was arrested for possession of marijuana. But there’s no public record that she was ever charged.

Common Pleas Judge Maria Musti Cook denied the forfeiture request in November 2016.

Senior Deputy Prosecutor Jared Mellott asked two more times. Cook denied both requests.

In June, Cook said the prosecution:

• Referred to a criminal case against Owens that didn’t exist;
• Failed to properly serve her husband;
• Filed a motion that contained “only boiler plate language” and had no facts to support allegations that the car was either used in a drug deal or bought with drug money.

But in October — more than two years after police seized the vehicle — Owens said she and her husband never got the car back.

“I moved on,” Owens said. “I got another vehicle.”

The district attorney’s office, she figured, would have already auctioned off the car.

Except it hadn’t.

When contacted by a reporter, Kearney said his office would reach out to Owens and her husband to let them know that they could pick up the vehicle. They wouldn’t have to pay any storage fees, he said.

He thanked the York Daily Record for bringing the case to his attention.

PAST WATCHDOG STORIES:He bought a knife at Walmart. Now, he's in York County Prison.

Former Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman spoke to the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2015 as legislators considered changes to the forfeiture law. She said there are a number of reasons to keep criminal cases and civil asset forfeiture cases separate.

“We don’t want people to buy their way out of court,” said Ferman, who, at the time, was president of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association. “We think that the people who are handling the criminal cases and who are seeking convictions should not have that responsibility or even the opportunity to impact whether or not property is taken.” 

In York County, criminal and civil forfeiture cases frequently get intermixed.

Scott McCabe, a defense attorney in York, said it often makes sense to take care of the forfeiture when everyone is already in the courtroom for the criminal case. He does not believe that people are getting better deals for giving up their items.

“But if you're getting a good deal, why do you want to throw a monkey wrench into the other side of it?” McCabe said.

Others, including Jay Whittle, a defense attorney in York, said forfeiture helps give the defense a bargaining chip in negotiations.

“Keep the car, drop the felony,” he said. “That happens all day long in court.”

Sometimes, people have to give up their right to fight for their money or property if they accept a plea agreement. Take Brad Markle.

He was sleeping on the couch at his home on Atlantic Avenue near Noonan Road in York when he heard his door swing open at 6 a.m.

The York City Police Department had a search warrant and said they seized marijuana, 56 pills, seven guns and $38,559. Markle, 36, of York, was charged with three counts of possession with intent to deliver — marijuana, hash and oxycodone — and related offenses.

Police put out a news release about the bust, which included a picture of the guns, drugs and money spread out on the floor. “That's some real serious stuff there !!!”  one man wrote on Facebook. “Nice to know that's off the street.”

In an interview, Markle said he legally owned the weapons — four of them belonged to his roommate, who owed him money — and that the marijuana was for personal use. He said he did not use a bank, which is why he had all that cash.

“I wasn’t a bad guy,” he said. “They made it worse than what it was, and they exploited me for no reason.”

Markle pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia in exchange for spending two years on probation. The catch: he had to give up the money.

During the hearing, Deputy Prosecutor Lewis Reagan said he would not characterize what the police discovered as a large operation. He said there was “discussion as to whether all or part of the proceeds” were from drugs, but the defense was willing to concede that it was all related “for the benefit of the bargain.”

Markle, who said he works as a piano mover and a gun safe salesman, regrets not fighting the forfeiture. He has three daughters — they were 2, 7 and 12 at the time — and had to think about them.

“It was more or less, they wanted to keep my money,” he said. “They didn’t care what I pled guilty to, I believe, as long as I gave them the money and the weapons, more or less.”

But James Burke, Markle’s attorney, said he had filed a motion challenging the validity of the search warrant, which he alleged was based on false statements from a confidential informant. He said he believes that helped with plea negotiations — the forfeiture was a smaller part of the equation. 

“It’s not a quid pro quo,” Burke said. “It’s, perhaps, an added feature.”

Kearney said if someone accepts a plea agreement, they are taking responsibility for the crime. That, he said, would indicate that the forfeiture is appropriate.

Judges, he said, have to approve plea agreements. A vast majority of the time, the punishment will be within the sentencing guidelines, Kearney said.

Civil asset forfeiture is a “byproduct” of their work.  It’s not, he said, the focus of the district attorney’s office.

“Is your question, ‘I’m going to cut somebody a break because they’ve got ... $10,000 versus $100, and I want that 10 grand?’” he said. “The answer is, ‘No.’ OK. It’s not what you got, it’s what you did.”

The district attorney’s office wins most forfeiture cases. But some people — even convicted drug dealers — can manage to get money or property back if they go to court.

For instance:

• Calvin Orr II was convicted of possession with intent to deliver marijuana. He fought the forfeiture. In the end, prosecutors kept $2,515. He was allowed to get his TV and cellphone back.
• Glenn Miller Jr. was convicted of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance. Police seized $4,215. Miller had an attorney and struck a deal with prosecutors to split the money 50-50.
• One man, who is referred to as Marcus Carwell and Markus Carwell in court records, was convicted of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and related offenses. But someone else, Astacia Smith, said a PlayStation 4, car alarm, TV and laptop belonged to her. They were taken from a storage unit, her attorney said. Senior Deputy Prosecutor Seth Bortner said after reviewing the petition, he decided “there wasn’t any likelihood” of being able to prove those items were purchased with drug proceeds and agreed to return them. Prosecutors got to keep $468 in cash and three cell phones.

Ron Gross, a defense attorney in York, said law enforcement has progressively expanded the use of civil asset forfeiture. Police, he said, have taken items including TVs, video game consoles and power tools.

“I think it’s just a matter of, ‘Push the envelope until you say stop,’” Gross said. “It’s sort of like when you’re playing sports. You’re going to take headshots until you get called on it.”

CHECK OUT:How easy is it to skirt Pa. gun laws? Look at this murder case in rural York County

Earlier this year, the Legislature voted to change Pennsylvania’s forfeiture law.

Folmer, the state senator and prominent critic of civil asset forfeiture, was a prime sponsor of the legislation. He got the support of Kearney and the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, which had previously opposed his ideas for reform. 

The new law raises the burden of proof for prosecutors, and it allows people to go to court and ask for property back while they await a final decision on the forfeiture.

Folmer thinks it will make a big difference in cases in which prosecutors try to take homes.

“I believe it’s a really great first step,” Folmer said.

But Molly Tack-Hooper, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Pennsylvania, said people still bear the initial burden of responding to the prosecutor’s request to keep their property. If they don’t reply, judges can automatically rule against them.

People still don’t have a right to an attorney and they still can lose property without being convicted of a crime. Prosecutors still have broad discretion.

Voters in Philadelphia, a city that has come under the national spotlight for its aggressive use of civil asset forfeiture, elected Larry Krasner to be their next district attorney.

Krasner, a civil rights attorney, pledged to only use forfeiture in cases in which someone was convicted of a crime. He said he would ensure there was a meaningful opportunity to contest a seizure.

Meanwhile, Kearney is retiring after two terms as York County’s district attorney.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Dave Sunday will take office in January. He campaigned on his experience prosecuting drug and murder cases as well as his involvement with the York Opioid Collaborative.

During the primary, Sunday didn’t propose big changes with how prosecutors use forfeiture, though he said he’d spend significantly more money on drug treatment. Law enforcement, he has said, needs to stop drug dealers from reinvesting money into “their business to buy more guns and drugs.”

In an interview before Election Day, Sunday said he would make it clear to prosecutors that they “cannot punish someone for not agreeing to forfeit their property” in plea agreements.

Prosecutors will look at forfeiture on a case-by-case basis, he said.

Said Sunday: “If I’m the district attorney of York County, we’re going to follow the law. It’s as simple as that.”

Contact Ed Mahon at 717-771-2089 and Dylan Segelbaum at 717-771-2102.

—Brandie Kessler contributed to this report.

About the analysis

The York Daily Record/Sunday News looked at about 425 civil asset forfeiture cases that were filed in 2015. 

Why 2015? We wanted to give the cases enough time be resolved.

The York Daily Record also analyzed six years of reports about civil asset forfeiture from the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office. They’re based on information that each county reports to the state. These reports are submitted annually to the Legislature.

Two included no information about Bucks County. So we asked the county for the data and added it in our analysis.

One year, Clarion County submitted incorrect information. (It reported taking more than 1,000 vehicles.) We caught the mistake, and adjusted the numbers accordingly.

More:Subscribe to ydr.com for just $29 for a year!