Opinion
CASE NO. 1:99-cr-00029-MP-AK.
March 16, 2007
ORDER
This matter is before the Court on Doc. 224, Motion for Return of Property, filed by Kier Elgin Riley. In the motion, Defendant Riley requests, pursuant to Rule 41(g) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, for the return of over $17,000 in United States currency, which Defendant asserts is in the possession of the Government. Rule 41(g) provides that a "person aggrieved by an unlawful search and seizure of property or by the deprivation of property may move for the property's return. The motion must be filed in the district where the property was seized." FED. R. CRIM. P. 41(g). It appears from the record that on July 20, 1999, the Florence County Sheriff's Department seized approximately $18,247 in cash from the Defendant's person and vehicle. Florence County is in the Eastern District of South Carolina. Rule 41(g) expressly requires post-conviction motions for the return of property to be made in the district where the property at issue was seized. Because Defendant's property was seized in South Carolina, venue is not proper in the Northern District of Florida. Therefore, Defendant's motion is dismissed without prejudice.
DONE AND ORDERED.