People v. $47,638 in US Currency CA2/3

BACKGROUND

On August 15, 2011, defendant Soto was arrested after being found in a car with 22 bindles containing an off-white powdery substance resembling cocaine. Soto also had $698 cash in his possession. This arrest ultimately led to his conviction for possessing a controlled substance for sale in violation of Health and Safety Code section 11351.1 On the day of his arrest, Soto told police he had approximately $40,000 cash at his house, so officers went to search his Van Nuys home. The woman who answered the door identified herself as his wife, Magdalena Gutierrez. Just after the officers found a great deal of cash inside a jacket hanging in a bedroom closet, Gutierrez asked for a search warrant and the search was halted. Returning the following day with a warrant, the officers found $46,940 cash inside the jacket. After a police dog alerted to the scent of narcotics, this money was seized. That same day, Soto was issued a Receipt for Property Taken into Custody which listed the money seized from the house and the car, along with several other items.2 On August 17, 2011, a follow-up police report recorded Gutierrez’s statement about the cash seized from the house. Gutierrez…