On May 14, 2019, Ameal Woods drove from rural Mississippi to Houston with $42,300 in cash. He was ready to achieve a major goal he and his wife had worked, saved and borrowed for: Purchasing a second semi truck for the fledgling trucking business he operated with his brother, and perhaps a trailer, too.
Along Interstate 10 in Texas, however, his entrepreneurial dream turned into a nightmare. It started when Woods was pulled over by a Harris County sheriff’s deputy who claimed Woods had been following too closely behind the truck in front of him
The deputy asked Woods if he was carrying drugs or money. Seeking to be cooperative, Woods said he was carrying cash in the trunk and consented to a search of his vehicle. The deputy proceeded to the trunk, took the money, handed Woods a receipt, and sent him on his way without charging him with anything.
“All my cash. All my life savings. All my dreams. He got it,” says Woods in an Institute for Justice video profile embedded at the end of this article.
Woods had become a victim of civil asset forfeiture, a controversial practice that authorizes police to seize money, cars, trucks, houses or anything else they merely accuse of having a link to criminal activity—regardless of whether the property owner is charged with a crime.
Woods says all his money was legally acquired: $22,800 from his own savings, $13,000 borrowed from his niece and another $6,500 lent to him by his wife, Jordan Davis. Davis says she’d worked overtime shifts in her job as a restaurant cashier to help accumulate the money Woods needed to pursue his business goals.
“I worked hard for that money,” says Davis. “There were days that I didn’t even want to go to work because I’m tired, and to just have it taken, with no explanation is terrible. How do you start over?” It was an even more devastating blow for Woods: “All of my drive, all of my motivation, everything was gone.” He went into a deep depression. Rather than expanding his business, he’s been reduced to doing odd jobs.
Civil Asset Forfeiture Puts Property on Trial
It’s not a Crime it’s just worthless stupidity. I laugh at people that make a big scene dolling out cash like it’s Power and tip with coins and people that Mail Checks and wonder why their bills are overdue or have identity theft. People have antiquated notions of modern finance and WHAT’S FAIR. Did they buy and hold Gold after 911 when it was 450$ an oz and cash it out when it was 1900? Doubtfully! Did they really think their meager contributions to Social Security would ever pay out? DId they really think a house was an investment or simply a HOME. That’s what we are coming to. Everything you thought you knew or understood is about to unravel the value of your job and toil and assumed owned property and equity. It’s not a Socialist plot or Conspiracy it’s simply an adjustment of the Post War American dream and hyper inflated consumerism that has made shopping and aquisition the national passtime and we now are dependent upon offshore suppliers to meet our addiction. Laugh as you may at people that are investing in going OFF GRID and making lives for themselves outside traditional work and supply chains of need but they actually may have something there.
This outrageous practice is NOTHING LESS THAN, and NO DIFFERENT FROM highway robbery.
Well, there IS one difference — the people doing it wear a badge. And just like highway robbers of old, they can — and will — shoot you (and they always shoot to kill) for “resisting”.
BILLIONS of dollars in cash and property have been seized by police (serving and protecting, you know).
The most alarming fact?? NO CHARGES are filed. No charges, no accusations, no trial. Just robbery.
Take cash like that from me??? Its war.
I can’t be alone with that attitude either. Destroy my life and you think I’m just going to go away and forget it??
What??? In America??? Nooooooooo, can’t be. You must be talking about some hard core communist country.
Yet people want us to blindly back the blue.
He should have never carried that much cash with him. Banks or savings deposit boxes or even a home safe, but never travel with that much money. What happened to him was wrong and hopefully he can get a good lawyer to try to get some of this back. This can happen to anyone. Have a son or relative caught with drugs in your home, goodbye home!