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NOTICE: This opinion is subject to motions for rehearing under Rule 22 as well as formal revision before publication in the New Hampshire Reports. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter, Supreme Court of New Hampshire, One Charles Doe Drive, Concord, New Hampshire 03301, of any editorial errors in order that corrections may be made before the opinion goes to press. Errors may be reported by E-mail at the following address: reporter@courts.state.nh.us. Opinions are available on the Internet by 9:00 a.m. on the morning of their release. The direct address of the court's home page is: http://www.courts.state.nh.us/supreme. THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE ___________________________ Merrimack No. 2006-567 IN RE TOYOTA AVALON VIN # 4T1BJ18BXWU251611 Submitted: June 20, 2007 Opinion Issued: July 19, 2007 Kelly A. Ayotte, attorney general (Jane E. Young, senior assistant attorney general, on the brief), for the State. Dervon Benedict, by brief, pro se. GALWAY, J. The defendant, Dervon Benedict, appeals a decision of the Superior Court (Conboy, J.) granting the State's petition for forfeiture of his Toyota Avalon. See RSA 318-B:17-b (2004). We affirm. In early 2005, the Concord Police Department received information that the defendant had been distributing crack cocaine in Concord and surrounding areas. Through a confidential informant, the police learned of a meeting involving the defendant at which a crack cocaine transaction would occur. The defendant traveled to the meeting in the Toyota Avalon that is the subject of the State's forfeiture petition. When the defendant arrived at the meeting, he was arrested and seventy-eight baggies of crack cocaine were found on his person. It was later determined that the defendant was carrying 28.7 grams of crack cocaine, a felony level offense. See RSA 318-B:26, I(a)(3) (2004). The State charged the defendant with possession with the intent to distribute. Prior to prosecution, however, the State referred the case to the

United States Attorney's Office for federal prosecution. On March 16, 2006, the defendant pled guilty in federal court to possession with intent to distribute more than five grams of cocaine base. See 18 U.S.C.

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