A Mexican man has won a case against the government after he bought a car filled with marijuana. Francisco Rivera Agredano bought a Nissan Pathfinder at a government auction in San Ysidro in 2001. Approximately four months later, he was pulled over at a military checkpoint near Ensenada and soldiers found 37 pounds of marijuana stashed in the vehicle’s doors, sides, and upholstery. Mr. Rivera and his passenger, his brother-in-law Alfonso Calderon Leon, were held in an Ensenada prison for nearly a year until they could prove their innocence. Mr. Rivera’s lawyer, Carlos Mejia Lopez, eventually convinced an appeals court that the marijuana was old and not only of no value, but therefore had been in the vehicle before his client purchased it. Mr. Rivera sued the government for breach of contract and was awarded $551,000. A district judge will decide how the money will be dispersed. Mr. Rivera’s attorney fees for Mr. Mejia total $350,000, along with $172,000-$285,000 for San Diego-based lawyer Teresa Trucchi.
Though the case is settled, it is still unknown as to how the drugs were not found by U.S. Customs before they auctioned the vehicle. Judges refused to explain what happened to the Pathfinder from the time it was seized and before it was sold to Mr. Rivera because the government does not want smugglers to learn about their search procedures. Mr. Rivera’s attorneys claimed that Customs officials do not adequately search the seized vehicles because they do not want to take the risk of damaging them and lowering their value. However, Mr. Rivera’s lawyers do feel that the U.S. government has improved its inspection procedures in the years since Mr. Rivera’s ordeal.
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