Pyle, J.
Michael Hodges (“Hodges”) appeals the trial court’s order granting the State’s motion to transfer $60,990 of his money to the United States. Hodges argues that the seizure of his money was unlawful because it exceeded the scope of the search warrant. Concluding that the seizure was unlawful, we reverse the trial court’s order granting the State’s motion to turn the currency over to the United States and remand with instructions to the trial court to order the return of the money to Hodges.
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In October 2017, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Detective Brian Thorla (“Detective Thorla”) was inspecting unopened packages at a local parcel shipping company when he noticed a suspicious package addressed from Hodges in Illinois to Christopher Smith in California. Specifically, Detective Thorla concluded that the package was suspicious because: (1) the shipping cost was paid in cash; (2) no signature was required at the time of the package’s delivery; (3) additional tape was added to a self-sealing box; and (4) the shipping box was a new box from the shipping company. Detective Thorla set the package aside, and his K9 partner, Hogan (“K9 Hogan”), later conducted a dog sniff of it. After K9 Hogan gave a positive alert to the package, which indicated the presence of the odor of controlled substances, the detective sought and received a search warrant, which authorized law enforcement officers to open the package and search for: “Illegal Controlled substances (Marijuana, Methamphetamine, Cocaine, Heroin, MDMA) also records of drug trafficking and proceeds of drug trafficking, bulk cash smuggling, money laundering, involving the proactive attempts of concealing currency as listed in the affidavit; as well as money orders and gift cards.” The search warrant also authorized law enforcement officers to “seize such property, or any part thereof, found on such search.”
When Detective Thorla opened the package, he discovered vacuum sealed packets of United States currency. The packets contained a large quantity of twenty-dollar bills, which were wrapped tightly in rubber bands. The seized currency was removed from the sealed packets and hidden in another room where K9 Hogan gave another positive alert, which indicated the presence of the odor of controlled substances on the currency. Based on his training and experience, Detective Thorla recognized these factors to be indicators that the currency was the proceeds of drug trafficking.
In November 2017, the State filed a motion to transfer the seized money to the United States. Specifically, pursuant to INDIANA CODE § 35-33-5-5, the State alleged that during the execution of a search warrant, “U.S. Currency was discovered and confiscated as proceeds of narcotics trafficking under Ind. Code Ann. 35-48-4-1 and money laundering under Ind. Code Ann. 35-45-15-4[.]” Based on the allegation, the State “move[d] the [trial] court to issue a Turnover Order authorizing the State to turn over to the appropriate federal authority certain property seized from [Michael Hodges] and held by the State for forfeiture.”
Hodges filed an answer objecting to the State’s motion to transfer wherein he argued that the seizure of the $60,990 was unlawful because it exceeded the scope of the search warrant. In support of his objection, Hodges cited Bowman v. State, 81 N.E.3d 1127 (Ind. Ct. App. 2017), modified on denial of rehearing, trans. denied, cert. denied, which involved the same detective and facts similar to his own case.
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At a hearing on the turnover order, Hodges testified that he is an NBA agent and that he also owns a company that resells tickets to sporting events. He explained that the $60,990 belonged to him and that he had sent it to a contact in California to purchase a large number of World Series tickets that he had planned to resell. Hodges denied obtaining the $60,990 from selling drugs or other illegal activity. It does not appear that Hodges was charged with any state or federal offenses in connection with the parcel.
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Here, as we did in Bowman, we must determine whether the seizure of Hodges’ money was unlawful. Further, as we explained in Bowman:
A search warrant must describe ‘with particularity . . . the items to be seized.’ Pavey v. State, 764 N.E.2d 692, 702 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002). This requirement ‘restricts the scope of the search, authorizing seizure of only those things described in the warrant. . . .’ Id. An exact description is not required, but the items to be searched for must be described with some specificity. Overstreet v. State, 783 N.E.2d 1140, 1158 (Ind. 2003).
Bowman, 81 N.E.3d at 1129-30.
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The trial court in this case correctly pointed out that although the search warrant in Bowman authorized the seizure of only the proceeds of drug trafficking, the search warrant in this case also included the proceeds of bulk cash smuggling or money laundering. The trial court then concluded that it did not need to determine whether the currency was connection to drug trafficking because there was evidence that it was the proceeds of bulk cash smuggling. Based on this alleged evidence of bulk cash smuggling, the trial court further concluded that the seizure of Hodges’ $60,990 was lawful.
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As we explained in Bowman, 81 N.E.3d at 1131, where no evidence of unlawful activity was found in the parcel, and there has been no allegation that Hodges has been charged with any state or federal offenses in connection with the parcel, no reasonable person would conclude that the currency discovered in the parcel was the proceeds of bulk cash smuggling, drug trafficking, or money laundering. The seizure of the currency was therefore unlawful, and the trial court’s order granting the State’s motion to turn the currency over to the United States was erroneous. We therefore reverse and remand this case with instruction to the trial court to order the return of the currency to Hodges.
Reversed and remanded.
Vaidik, C.J., and Barnes, Sr.J., concur.