April 01, 2008 Nye County, Nevada
Sheriff's Deputy seizes over a quarter million dollars in cash on US-95

On April 01, 2008 Deputy Dan Daniel Pineau and his Partner K-9 Derek were on patrol working drug interdiction on US-95 in the township of Beatty, Nevada County of Nye.

Deputy Pineau conducted a traffic stop on US-95 mile marker 60 and first street on a 2005 ford F150 pick-up for traveling above the posted speed limit and for not stopping at a stop sign.

The female driver was identified as being Maria Villananeda (33 years old) from Iowa. She was travelling with two children and said that she was heading to California for a vacation. Deputy Pineau's K-9 "Derek" alerted on the vehicle.

Deputy Pineau located a hidden compartment inside the vehicle above the transmission. The vehicle was then taken to the Nye County Sheriff's Office where a more thorough search of the vehicle was conducted. Deputy Pineau then located two more compartments inside the driver's side and passenger's side front fenders. All three compartments contained US currency totaling $750,111 dollars in cash.

The driver denied knowing about the money and was released. The cash and truck were seized.

Sheriff Tony DeMeo said it the largest cash seizure in Nye County history. The previous record was $676,000 during a traffic stop in Tonopah in 2002.

Source: Nye County Sheriff's Office