YNP Keeps Money From July Traffic Stop

Yellowstone National Park will be keeping money seized in a routine traffic stop this summer.
Last week, a judge ruled that the government can keep more than $20 thousand dollars in cash that a Yellowstone ranger seized from two Illinois men in July. The men were stopped for speeding about 14 miles west of the Northeast entrance to the Park, but Ranger Brad Jones began searching the vehicle after he smelled marijuana. In addition to marijuana and paraphernalia that was found in the vehicle, rangers found more illegal drugs and materials at the Madison Campground, where the two had set up camp.
According to an article in the Powell Tribune, U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Carmon of Mammoth Hot Springs issued a default judgment and order of forfeiture on October 25th, allowing the government to keep the $20,337.
The two culprits each spent several days in jail after pleading guilty to misdemeanor drug offenses. They were also ordered to pay $1,025 and to serve five years of unsupervised probation. As a condition of their probation, they cannot enter Yellowstone.