Pubdate: Sat, 16 Jul 2016 Source: Press Democrat, The (Santa Rosa, CA) Copyright: 2016 The Press Democrat Contact: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/348 Author: Paul Payne Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/af.htm (Asset Forfeiture) RICKY ROSS FACES SONOMA COUNTY JUDGE IN DRUG CASE Sonoma County prosecutors said Friday they still have not decided whether to bring charges against Los Angeles drug-trafficker-turned-author "Freeway" Ricky Ross, who was arrested last fall while driving on Highway 101 with $100,000 cash in his car. No future court date was set for Ross, 56, who is out of custody and appeared before Judge Arthur Wick. He was "discharged," meaning he does not have to return to Sonoma County unless notified. But prosecutors said an investigation is ongoing to see if Ross broke any laws. He was arrested on suspicion of possessing money related to the sale of a controlled substance and conspiring to commit a crime. The cash was seized and remains in possession of local authorities. Ross maintains he was planning to use it to buy land in Humboldt County and that he was pulled over because he is black. His lawyer, Jai Gohel, said his client made money from a recently published memoir about being a drug kingpin in Southern California in the 1980s and '90s. He served 13 years in prison before his release in 2009. Gohel said prosecutors have three years to decide whether to charge Ross, but it doesn't appear likely. "I think the chances are pretty minimal but you never know," Gohel said Friday. Ross has lodged a claim to get his money back, alleging he was illegally profiled and stopped without justification. The funds were legal and not derived from narcotics transactions, Gohel said. The area where Ross was pulled over is known as the "gauntlet" in the marijuana trade, because police stop so many people traveling to or from well-established pot-growing centers to the north. During the traffic stop, the sheriff's deputy told Ross he smelled marijuana, which allowed him to search the vehicle with a trained police dog, Gohel said. The dog found the cash. Ross said that he has a valid prescription for marijuana, according to published reports. Ross received his nickname from living in properties he owned along the Harbor Freeway in Los Angeles. He is said to have made hundreds of millions of dollars in the crack cocaine business before being sent to prison. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom