People v. $4,503 United States Currency

After appellant Calvillo Abarca failed to appear at a deposition, the trial court struck his claim opposing the forfeiture of $4,503 in United States currency seized from him as the proceeds of a controlled substance transaction. (See Health & Saf. Code, § 11470, subd. (f).) It denied his motion for summary judgment and granted a default judgment in favor of the People. Abarca appeals, contending that the trial court erred in denying his motion for summary judgment because of pleading deficiencies and because an out-of-state narcotics indictment does not constitute the underlying predicate offense necessary to support a forfeiture action. We affirm the judgment.

I. Facts

By February 1994, a grand jury in Oregon had indicted appellant Calvillo Abarca on 10 felony counts, including delivery, manufacture and possession of a controlled substance. He was also charged with conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance. He failed to appear at a hearing and was a fugitive from Oregon. A warrant was issued for his arrest in November 1994.

Meanwhile, in September 1994, the Humboldt County Drug Task Force searched Abarca’s Eureka residence pursuant to a search warrant. They seized…