IA: Even though defendant acquitted of drug crime, the state gets to forfeit his cash seized at the time

Defendant filed a motion to suppress a search and lost, but he was acquitted of the drug charge. The seizure of his cash in a separate action, however, was still subject to forfeiture. The stop was pretextual by a drug interdiction unit, but it was reasonable based on an equipment violation. Reasonable suspicion ultimately developed and the wait for the drug dog was minimal. The trial court held that the basis for forfeiture was proved by a preponderance of the evidence. The search being good, the forfeiture is affirmed. In the Matter of Property Seized From Parsee, 2015 Iowa App. LEXIS 196 (February 25, 2015). This case also has a good discussion of res judicata and collateral estoppel from the inability to appeal the suppression issue after the acquittal not barring relitigating the issue in the forfeiture.