Tribe seizes car after finding joint on driver

SCOTTSDALE, AZ - An ASU student says her car was seized by police after she admitted to having a joint in her pocket.

Experts say normally those kinds of forfeitures happen after big drug busts.

But Kayla was driving on Indian land.

She was on the 101 near Scottsdale Road when she got pulled over for speeding.

Technically she was on Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community land and their sovereign laws apply.

So Kayla started a legal battle to get her car back.

After Kayla got pulled over for speeding by Salt River police, officers were suspicious she was driving under the influence.

She says she admitted she had a joint in her pocket.

Kayla was arrested for DUI, but they also seized her SUV because of the joint.

“I was shocked, I didn't realize that my vehicle could be seized over such a miniscule amount of marijuana. I thought they seized vehicles from drug dealers,” she said.

Under tribal law, police can then turn around and sell that car.

Her attorney says such extreme measures are usually reserved for drug dealers or other felonies under state law.

“What's really unfair is how it's applied. Because most people don't realize by driving on the 101, they're subjecting themselves to the laws of a sovereign entity that has nothing to do with the state of Arizona,” said Craig Rosenstein.

But since the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community is a sovereign nation, its own laws apply.

It's something Kayla wants to make sure other drivers understand.

She spent thousands of dollars and eventually got her SUV back after a few months.

“I don't want this to happen to anyone else. It wasn't fair what they did to me,” she said.

A spokeswoman for Salt River tells us cases like this are not out of the ordinary.

The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community determines and initiates forfeiture once the Salt River Police Department determines that a crime has been committed according to Community law and Salt River Ordinance Article V Section 14-32. In this instance, the individual was stopped for a routine traffic violation – speeding.  Officers smelled marijuana within the vehicle.  The subject was found to have drug paraphernalia and several varieties of marijuana in their possession.  The subject’s vehicle was seized pursuant to Salt River Ordinance Article V Sect. 14-32 and was later released to the lien holder who was an innocent owner.

Candace Romero, media relations specialist

Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community