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true true true

Police Return Seized Land Rover To Indiana Man After 7-Year Civil Forfeiture Battle

By Emma Atkinson

Posted May 28, 2020

Tyson Timbs with his returned Land Rover.

Tyson Timbs with his returned Land Rover. (Courtesy of the Institute For Justice)

Tyson Timbs got his Land Rover back from the state of Indiana this week — but it's now only worth about a third of what it was when police seized the SUV in a 2013 undercover drug bust.

Sam Gedge, a member of Timbs' legal team with the Institute for Justice, says they had the car appraised in February and determined it was worth $35,000 when it was seized. Now, the Kelley Blue Book says a fair purchase price for the car is closer to $10,000.

Police seized Timbs' 2012 Land Rover LR2 in late 2013 after he sold more than $500 worth of heroin to undercover officers in May 2013. 

A couple months after filing felony charges against Timbs, the state started a civil forfeiture case in an attempt to keep the Land Rover. Timbs pleaded guilty to one of the drug charges but fought the forfeiture, entering what would become a seven-year battle over civil forfeiture that eventually made its way to the United States Supreme Court.

READ MORE: U.S. Supreme Court To Hear Indiana Civil Forfeiture Case

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Timbs' favor in February 2019, determining that the Constitution's ban on excessive fines also applies to the states. 

And earlier this year, a Grant County judge ordered the vehicle to be returned.

Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill has appealed that ruling, which means Timbs' civil forfeiture case will go before the Indiana Supreme Court for the third time in seven years. 

For now, though, the Land Rover is back in Timbs' driveway.

“For years, this case has been important not just for me, but for thousands of people who are caught up in forfeiture lawsuits,” Tyson said via a statement. “To me, the State’s refusal to give back my car has never made sense; if they’re trying to rehabilitate me and help me help myself, why do you want to make things harder by taking away the vehicle I need to meet with my parole officer or go to a drug recovery program or go to work? Forfeiture only makes it more challenging for people in my position to clean up and be contributing members of society.”

Gedge says his team is not aware of any major deficiencies or damage to the Land Rover, but will conduct a more thorough inspection in the coming weeks.

Read Next

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