Customs agents seized a lawful gun owner’s truck over five bullets. Now he’s suing to get it back.

[livingston]

Customs agents seized a lawful gun owner’s truck over five bullets. Now he’s suing to get it back.
On Sept. 21, 2015, Gerardo Serrano was driving from his home in Kentucky to Piedras Negras, Mexico, when his truck was searched by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at Texas's Eagle Pass border crossing. After finding a small ammunition clip, the agents took Serrano's truck from him.

Two years later, Customs hasn't charged Serrano with a crime, and they haven't given his truck back either. Now he's suing over what he calls a violation of his constitutional rights.

Customs seized the truck under the laws of civil asset forfeiture, which allow authorities to take cash and property from citizens upon suspicion of criminal wrongdoing. Because it happens under civil law, no criminal conviction — or even criminal charge — is necessary for authorities to take property they believe is connected to a crime.
Customs agents seized a lawful gun owner’s truck over five bullets. Now he’s suing to get it back.

 

[livingston]

In September 2015, Serrano drove his new Ford F-250 pickup from his home in Kentucky to the Mexico border. He was going to visit a cousin he hadn't seen in many years.

He snapped a few photos with his phone as he drove through the checkpoint, planning to upload them to Facebook, just as he says he had been doing throughout his whole trip, to share the experience with friends and family back home.

That's when the trouble started. One of Serrano's photos shows two Customs agents looking in his direction, hands held up. According to his lawsuit, the agents objected to his taking photos.

Several weeks later he received a formal forfeiture notice from Customs, informing him that the government believed his truck was being used to transport “arms or munitions of war.” The notice gave him a number of options to pursue if he wanted his truck back.

One of the options was to make an “offer in compromise” — send Customs a check, and if they deemed the amount to be high enough, they would return his truck to him.

“That's like a shakedown,” Serrano said, "'give us an offer and we'll figure out if it's enough.'”

 

[ProgSpear]

another form of "legal" government theft.
Cato Handbook for Policymakers: 12. Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform

 

[@thewheels]

This civil asset forfeiture crap really fries my bacon.
When will this country tire of the new IPhone and DWTS and wake the hell up?
The kraken has been released and it's running rampant and Americans are arguing on FB over who should pee where and which Confederate statues should be taken down.

 

[Podmonkey]

Moral of the story? Don't drive to Mexico.

 

[GTN]

Moral of the story? Don't drive to Mexico.

no trains, planes or automobiles, or boats!

 

[Robin]

Moral of the story, Drain the swamp!!!!! And, all its estuary's!
Robin

 

[Criticalt]

Damn, they would probably just shoot my truck on the spot!!!

 

[2WheelGnnr]

So customs was mad that they were not given a chance to smile for the photo...Jeeeez.....