Judge says Walla Walla police can keep $401,000

[February 04, 2010]  WALLA WALLA, Wash. (AP) -- The Walla Walla Police Department can keep $401,000 officers found in a vacant house.

Walla Walla Superior Court Judge Donald Schacht ruled Thursday that the cash be forfeited as drug money and a man who claimed it is not the rightful owner.

Officers responding to a noise complaint in 2006 found the money at a house. An investigation led officers to methamphetamine, marijuana and cocaine at a storage unit in Oregon.

A man caught attempting to flee out the back of the house initially said the money was not his but later tried to claim it.

Police Officer Tim Bennett says the department can only use the money for drug enforcement.

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(With information from Blue Mountain Television)

[Associated Press]

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