On May 6, a joint statement was released stating that both Empyreal and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department in Southern California “understand that each [was] acting in good faith when the stops were conducted and have come to an understanding that will enable both sides to move forward amicably.”
Empyreal transport vans were stopped by Sheriff Shannon Dicus’ deputies in November, December, and January, and had seized a total of $1.1 million in legal cannabis sales. The U.S. Department of Justice’s equitable sharing program allows the sheriff’s department to retain up to 80% of money collected through civil forfeitures. Although the state of California prohibits law enforcement from seizing legal cannabis money, Dicus transferred the seized money to the FBI, claiming that it was evidence in an ongoing investigation. The federal government has since agreed to return 100% of the money seized, although the lawsuit against Dicus continued until recently.
According to The San Bernardino Sun, Dicus believed that the seizure that his department conducted were legitimate. On Nov. 16, the Empyreal vehicle, a Ford van, was driving six feet behind a semi-truck while pulling a trailer. “During the stop, the deputy made further observations, including hearing inconsistent statements made by the driver and company representatives, that led the deputy to believe the contents of the van were illicit proceeds of unlawful drug sales,” Dicus said of the incident. Based on those Deputy J. Franco obtained a search warrant to investigate, and seized $700,000 collected from four state-licensed cannabis businesses.
A similar incident occurred on Dec. 9 with the same Empyreal Ford van, which was changing lanes without signaling. There was also a document that instructed the driver how to respond to law enforcement if