Miami police were caught on camera unlawfully seizing guns, drugs and nearly $20,000 in stripper tips, during a traffic stop that they later boasted about to local media.

Ras Cates, 33, and his wife Lizmixell Batista, 20, were pulled over for cutting off a patrol car in Miami on May 25 when officers searched the couple’s car without permission.

In the trunk they found six guns, including three assault rifles, $19,934 that Batista, a stripper, had earned in tips at Cheetah Gentleman’s Club in Hallandale Beach, suspected marijuana oil and several bottles of codeine cough syrup.  

The couple were charged with multiple felonies including armed drug dealing, but quickly moved to have the charges thrown out by saying the evidence was obtained illegally, according to the Miami Herald.

The entire traffic stop was caught by an officer’s bodycam, which led prosecutors to dismiss the case. 

A court has ordered the Miami-Dade Police Department to return the glittery cash and pay the couple’s $3,000 legal bill.

 

A court has determined Miami police unlawfully seizing guns, drugs and nearly $20,000 in stripper tips during a traffic stop recorded by a bodycam on May 25

A court has determined Miami police unlawfully seizing guns, drugs and nearly $20,000 in stripper tips during a traffic stop recorded by a bodycam on May 25

The driver, 33-year-old Ras Cates, left, and passenger, 20-year-old Lizmixell Batista, right, were arrested and charged with multiple felonies including armed drug dealing

The driver, 33-year-old Ras Cates, left, and passenger, 20-year-old Lizmixell Batista, right, were arrested and charged with multiple felonies including armed drug dealing

The driver, 33-year-old Ras Cates, left, and passenger, 20-year-old Lizmixell Batista, right, were arrested and charged with multiple felonies including armed drug dealing

The bodycam footage shows Batista explaining to police that the large amount of cash in her purse came from her job as a stripper. The department has been ordered to return the money after authorities determined that there was no probable cause to search the car

The bodycam footage shows Batista explaining to police that the large amount of cash in her purse came from her job as a stripper. The department has been ordered to return the money after authorities determined that there was no probable cause to search the car

The bodycam footage shows Batista explaining to police that the large amount of cash in her purse came from her job as a stripper. The department has been ordered to return the money after authorities determined that there was no probable cause to search the car

The incident in Miami’s West Little River neighborhood has garnered significant media attention in part because the department had boasted about the seizure by sharing photos of the guns with a local TV station.

‘It’s amazing how something as simple as a traffic stop can lead us to crack a lot of cases,’ a police spokesman told CBS4. 

‘A lot of serial killers are behind bars because of traffic stops.’    

A defense attorney for Cates and Batista, Jude Faccidomo, said: ‘What is most disturbing is that immediately following the arrest, the department went on TV and engaged in incendiary speculation without knowing the facts or even acknowledging the rampant violations of my clients’ constitutional rights.’ 

Based on the bodycam footage, prosecutors agreed with the defense.

‘Search of the trunk was illegal,’ prosecutor Johnathan Nobile wrote in a memo explaining why the state didn’t press charges.   

The Miami Dade Police Department boasted about the seizure by sharing photos of the guns and alleged codeine syrup and marijuana oil with a local CBS TV station

The Miami Dade Police Department boasted about the seizure by sharing photos of the guns and alleged codeine syrup and marijuana oil with a local CBS TV station

The Miami Dade Police Department boasted about the seizure by sharing photos of the guns and alleged codeine syrup and marijuana oil with a local CBS TV station

In the video obtained by DailyMail.com an officer can be seen commanding Cates to open the trunk – where they found the bounty of potentially illegal items.

Cates told the officers that he legally owned the six guns and had a valid concealed-weapons permit, which authorities have confirmed.

Neither defendant admitted to owning the marijuana – and it is still unclear if the alleged codeine syrup – which was never tested – was obtained illegally or with a prescription.  

The nearly $20,000 in bills was discovered in Batista’s purse. 

The video shows the 20-year-old telling the officers: ‘I was supposed to go the bank to deposit the money. 

‘We got bills to pay, sweetie.’

Batista explained that the money was earned at her cash-only job.

A fellow stripper named Haley Heath testified that Batista earned ‘significant cash tips’ at the Cheetah club at a hearing.

However, the department has requested to keep the money for investigation after a police dog indicated that the cash had been ‘in close proximity’ to large amounts of narcotics.

‘I felt that the glitter on the seized cash was compelling evidence, but apparently the police department disagreed,’ defense lawyer Faccidomo quipped.

Because there was no probable cause for seizing the money, Judge Rodney Smith ordered that it be returned to the couple.   

Police were skeptical about Batista's claims that she earned the money working at Cheetah Gentleman's Club because a police dog found the cash had been in contact with narcotics

Police were skeptical about Batista's claims that she earned the money working at Cheetah Gentleman's Club because a police dog found the cash had been in contact with narcotics

Police were skeptical about Batista’s claims that she earned the money working at Cheetah Gentleman’s Club because a police dog found the cash had been in contact with narcotics



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