One farmer from Kentucky, Gerardo Serrano, is currently fighting back against asset forfeiture laws
by enduring the legal battle to try and get back his $60,000 new F-250 truck that was confiscated by authorities over two years ago.
Serrano was never arrested, detained, charged, tried, or convicted of any crime.
But authorities did take his truck two years ago, thanks to the controversial program known as civil asset forfeiture. And now he's enduring a very lengthy and costly battle to try and get it back.
This is a practice that has generated a lot of criticism over the years because it's been used to confiscate billions of dollars in assets from the American people. And many of them have never been charged or convicted of any crime in relation to that property confiscation, and so it's no wonder that many would feel and believe that their rights have been violated because of it.
Two years ago, Serrano says that he was on his way to Mexico with the truck to visit relatives.
Along the way, he allegedly had been taking photographs of the surrounding area on his cellphone, and before he got to his destination, he was stopped by border guards in Texas, who demanded that he provide his cell phone to them.
Serrano, who several years ago ran as a Republican candidate for the Kentucky House of Representatives, suggested that the officers should have a warrant first before confiscating his phone; that allegedly triggered a search of his vehicle.
When the officers searched his vehicle they had found a magazine clip with several bullets in it. However, Serrano did allegedly have the proper concealed carry permit for the state of Kentucky, which obviously isn't the area where authorities had stopped him. And Serrano has also held his federal firearms license, along with being a member of the National Association for Gun Rights.
Serrano is a farmer who lives in a rural area of Kentucky and it isn't uncommon for him to travel around with a firearm in his vehicle. In this case it seems he simply forgot about those bullets and it's a mistake that has cost him tens of thousands of dollars. But should it have?
Whenever a legal gun owner crosses state lines and travels into a territory that doesn't permit concealed carry for example, then they can end up in prison because of their actions. In an effort to try and change that, there's a recent conceal carry gun bill that has been introduced that is seeking to make changes that can help to avoid problems like this. Because some Americans don't believe that their 2nd amendment rights should dissolve and be unprotected simply because they are crossing over to another state.
It's known as the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017.
And if passed, it would mean that for those who do hold legal permits to carry guns, that they would be able to carry those concealed weapons across different states without the fear that they are in violation of any law. It's trying to prevent the state from wasting valuable resources on prosecuting folks who are trying to be law-abiding gun owners.
Ongoing Legal Battle...
The border patrol in Serrano's case eventually claimed that he was attempting to smuggle munitions of war, and it's allegedly been 2 years of delays in trying to get his matter to court. He has filed a lawsuit against the agency and is fighting to try and get his property back. But he isn't only fighting for himself.
Serrano has teamed up with the Institute for Justice, in order to launch his lawsuit. And he is launching a lawsuit on behalf of all US citizens who have fallen victim to this procedure and had their vehicles seized by border patrol in the same fashion. The suit is seeking an injunction against federal agencies in demanding that the border agency provide a prompt hearing whenever they take any vehicles under this program.
Serrano to this day says that he is still making $673 monthly car payments on his confiscated truck.
Pics:
Institute for Justice
Pixabay
Institute for Justice via foxnews
Source:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/09/20/has-asset-forfeiture-gone-too-far-truck-seizure-case-sparks-outrage-call-for-change.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/09/13/customs-agents-seized-a-lawful-gun-owners-truck-over-five-bullets-now-hes-suing-to-get-it-back/?tid=sm_fb&utm_term=.002cc31ec2ac
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/22/conceal-carry-gun-bill-would-allow-states-to-cross-honor-permits.html
http://ij.org/client/gerardo-serrano/
https://ballotpedia.org/Gerardo_Serrano
Related Posts:
DOJ Looks To Ramp Up Asset Forfeiture Across The U.S.
https://steemit.com/news/@doitvoluntarily/doj-looks-to-ramp-up-asset-forfeiture-across-the-u-s
Plans To Revive Civil Asset Forfeiture Fall Flat
https://steemit.com/news/@doitvoluntarily/plans-to-revive-civil-asset-forfeiture-fall-flat