‘Indefinitely Holding’: Cops Seize Plumbing Company’s Truck Without a Warrant, Refuse to Give it Back |

This article originally appeared on WND.com

Guest post by Bob Unruh

The government cannot seize your property simply because you were a passive observer to someone else’s alleged misdeeds.

In a perplexing legal battle, a family-owned plumbing business in Illinois is facing a courtroom showdown after law enforcement confiscated one of its trucks following a traffic accident—and it’s been over a year since they’ve seen it.

The Liberty Justice Center has released a detailed report regarding the conflict with the Winnebago County sheriff’s office and the local state’s attorney, stating they have “illegally seized and held—without justification—for 15 months the property of First Supply, LLC, simply because it was an innocent bystander in an auto accident.”

“The government cannot take your property without a warrant or an exception to that requirement,” emphasized Loren Seehase from the Liberty Justice Center. “Indefinitely holding onto your property without any pathway to recovery, purely because you were an innocent bystander to an alleged crime, is a violation of your Fourth Amendment rights.”

Brittney Corrillaud, the company’s attorney, expressed her frustration: “Having our delivery driver involved in a fatal accident was traumatic enough. Losing our truck to impoundment for an indefinite period not only cripples our operations but also jeopardizes our ability to pay our employees. We never anticipated being left in limbo for months, incurring thousands in additional costs just to maintain service for our customers. To make matters worse, our attempts to retrieve the vehicle have been met with bureaucratic indifference—being shuffled from one person to another at the state’s attorney’s office, with no assistance from the prosecutor.”

The saga began in January 2024 when a purportedly intoxicated driver ran a red light and collided with a First Supply delivery truck that was lawfully stopped. Tragically, the passenger in the other vehicle was killed on impact. Despite First Supply’s total lack of culpability in the incident, the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office seized its truck as evidence without a warrant or any pressing circumstances that would justify such an action.

As the months dragged on, First Supply diligently complied with law enforcement’s investigation, yet the truck remained in impound. At one point, a sergeant indicated the investigation was complete, yet the vehicle was still not returned. Even when the traffic case was dismissed, the truck remained under lock and key, and a new criminal case was initiated without any communication from either the sheriff’s office or the state’s attorney’s office about the truck’s return.

Throughout this ordeal, neither office ever reached out to First Supply regarding the retrieval of their truck. In fact, not once during the entire process did they provide a clear procedure or timeline for when the vehicle could be returned, leaving the company in a state of limbo.

For 15 months, the business has been incurring costs for a truck it cannot utilize, while simultaneously needing to maintain a replacement vehicle to keep operations afloat.

The Liberty Justice Center has now initiated a lawsuit concerning the vehicle’s confiscation, citing violations of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

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