Section 31-27-5 - Complaint of forfeiture; service of process.
31-27-5. Complaint of forfeiture; service of process.
A. Within thirty days of making a seizure, the state shall file a complaint of forfeiture or return the property to the person from whom it was seized. A complaint of forfeiture shall include:
(1) a description of the property seized;
(2) the date and place of seizure of the property;
(3) the name and address of the law enforcement agency making the seizure;
(4) the specific statutory and factual grounds for the seizure;
(5) if the property was seized pursuant to an order of seizure, the sworn application of the law enforcement officer for the order, and if the property was seized without an order of seizure, an affidavit from a law enforcement officer stating the legal and factual grounds why an order of seizure was not required; and
(6) the names of persons known to the state who may claim an interest in the property set forth in both the caption and in the complaint and the basis for each person's alleged interest.
B. The complaint shall be served upon the person from whom the property was seized, and, if that person is a criminal defendant, upon the person's attorney of record and upon all persons known or reasonably believed by the state to claim an interest in the property. A copy of the complaint shall also be published no less than three times in a newspaper of general circulation in the district of the court having jurisdiction.