Teen Discovers $277,670 in Bag and Turns It In

The teen-ager was scared when he walked into the North Hollywood police station with a nylon gym bag stuffed with $277,670 that he had found in a parking lot.

The 18-year-old from North Hollywood wasn’t sure whether police would slap him on the back for his honesty or treat him as a criminal and interrogate him.

The reaction of the police must have come as a surprise: “Wow, look at all the money!” they said.

The unidentified young man, whose family requested anonymity, found the money shortly after midnight Friday in a Sun Valley parking lot. More than 18 hours later, accompanied by his father and 19-year-old brother for moral support, he turned over the cash.

Police suspect the money belonged to an unlucky drug dealer. “Is there really a legitimate owner? I hardly think so,” Sgt. Christopher Vasquez said Saturday.

Not equipped to count so much money--there were denominations up to $100 bills--police sent the money to their headquarters downtown, where a mechanical money counter used by narcotics detectives was employed to count the loot. Vasquez said the cash would almost certainly be handed over to the Los Angeles Police Department’s Asset Forfeiture Unit, which distributes confiscated drug assets to the department.

Vasquez did not rule out the possibility that the youngster might get all or some of the money back if authorities fail to link it to drug activity. But, he said, “If you really put two and two together, where do those amounts of money come from? Dope.”

The young man found the money near some bushes in the parking lot of Canyon Liquor & Deli, police said. Store manager Frank Younan said he was unaware of the discovery because it occurred after his business had closed.

“That’s a surprise,” he said Saturday, when told of the find. “I think he was an honest guy. Maybe he’s too young.”

Vasquez said the intersection where the money was stashed is not known for drug dealing, although there are areas nearby where dope dealers hang out.

Vasquez, who briefly talked to the youngster and his family after they brought the money to the police station Friday evening, described him as “an average looking kid: clean-cut. He seemed like a good kid--conscientious.”

Vasquez said the family members were worried about what would happen to them when they showed up at the police station with $277,000 in cash.

“The family was a little bit apprehensive,” he said. “They wondered, ‘Are the police going to believe us? We don’t know. Are the police going to apprehend us? We don’t know.’ ”

Vasquez said the mother told police, “We didn’t know what you were going to do. You guys were really nice. We were surprised.”

The police didn’t seem to care that the money wasn’t handed over immediately.

“It’s just as much of a novelty to us,” Vasquez added. “We were thinking what would we have done.”

The teen-ager’s mother told police that her son still hadn’t relaxed from the excitement.

“The kid is a little spooked about this thing, wondering if people will be looking for him,” Vasquez said.