Mordica v. State

The officer did not impermissibly prolong the traffic stop, which led to the forfeiture of $63,339 seized from the defendant's vehicle.

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Following a hearing, the trial court granted the State’s petition for forfeiture of $63,339 seized from Jeffrey Mordica’s vehicle following a traffic stop. Mordica appeals, arguing that the State’s complaint for forfeiture failed to comply with statutory pleading requirements, and that the trial court erred in admitting uncertified criminal records into evidence, in admitting a certain police officer as an expert in bulk drug and cash smuggling, and in finding that the funds were subject to forfeiture. Finding no error, we affirm.

Viewed with all inferences in favor of the trial court’s findings, the record reveals that, on June 7, 2011, Officer Chris Webster of the Lamar County Sheriff’s Office was patrolling interstate traffic, and upon noticing Mordica’s car go by with excessively tinted windows, he initiated a traffic stop of the vehicle. As he approached the vehicle, the officer noted that the car emitted the “overwhelming odor of some type of air freshener.” Using a window tint meter, the officer determined that the tint was 12, in violation of Georgia law. Officer Webster asked Mordica for his license and insurance information and then, noting his Florida license plate, asked where he was going. Mordica responded that he was on his way to buy a restaurant in Atlanta, but that he couldn’t remember the name of the restaurant. Upon further questioning, Mordica then clarified that he was intending only to lease the restaurant and that he had learned about the opportunity on the internet. During this conversation, the officer noticed that Mordica was demonstrating an “unusual level of nervousness” and that he could see Mordica’s carotid artery “just pounding in his neck.”

Mordica v. State

The officer did not impermissibly prolong the traffic stop, which led to the forfeiture of $63,339 seized from the defendant's vehicle.

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