That Lottery Ticket Is Guilty !
Police in Maine are holding onto a lottery ticket worth $ 1,000 on the ground that it constitutes proceeds from the sale of illegal drugs:
ELLSWORTH, Maine (AP) — His lottery ticket was a $1,000 winner, but police have seized it saying it was bought with proceeds from an illegal drug sale.
Michael David, who had been staying at an Ellsworth motel, sold four 10-milligram methadone pills for $15 each last week, Police Chief John Deleo said.
He then went to a convenience store and bought lottery tickets and other merchandise and went back to his motel room, where he was busted.
“I guess it will be up to a judge to decide, but it’s in our possession right now as proceeds from a drug transaction,” Deleo said of the winning ticket.
In other words, as with the Nebraska case that Brad wrote about earlier today, the Ellsworth police don’t even have any evidence that the lottery ticket in question was paid for using illegal drugs. And guess what would happen to the $ 1,000 winnings if the judge determines that ticket does constitute “drug proceeds” ? It would either go to the state as a drug forfeiture, or go back to the state lottery fund as an unclaimed prize.
In either case, the state wins and liberty is the loser.
H/T: Publius Endures
