Man Loses Truck For Two Years Over A Few Bullets; Civil Asset Forfeiture Abuses Rage On
Gerardo Serrano
In September of 2015   Gerardo Serrano  was driving from  his  home in Kentucky to visit relatives in Mexico. When  he  stopped at the border in Texas  Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers searched  his  truck and found five bullets in the center console. While  Serrano  has a concealed carry permit   he  did not have any weapon in the vehicle.  He  had simply forgotten about the bullets  he âd left in the console.
Always eager to pounce on any excuse to grab property (which often helps pad the budget of the law enforcement agency involved)  the Border Patrol officers declared that  Serrano  was transporting âmunitions of warâ and therefore they were taking  his  vehicle from  him . Customs did not attempt to bring any criminal action against  him   but impounded  his  truck under civil asset forfeiture. Under that law  government officials can take a personâs property on the theory that the property itself is guilty of some wrongdoing.
 Serrano   however  wasnât about to let the CBP keep  his  truck  worth around $40 000. To fight the forfeiture   he  had to post a $4 000 bond  and promptly did so.  He  then waited and waited for the legal process to begin. As of this August   he  was still waiting. All the while   he  had to keep making payments on  his  loan and keep the truck insured.
But once  Serrano  got help from the Institute for Justice (IJ)  the government changed its tune. On October 13  CBP informed  Serrano  that it was releasing  his  truck and  he  could pick it up in Laredo  TX. As we read in this Washington Post story   he  was elated to find that the vehicle had been well cared for. It had just been washed and waxed and even had new tires.
In September of 2015    [TGT] was driving from   [TGT]   home in Kentucky to visit relatives in Mexico. When   [TGT]   stopped at the border in Texas  Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers searched  his  truck and found five bullets in the center console. While   [TGT] has a concealed carry permit    [TGT]   did not have any weapon in the vehicle.   [TGT]   had simply forgotten about the bullets   [TGT]  âd left in the console.
Always eager to pounce on any excuse to grab property (which often helps pad the budget of the law enforcement agency involved)  the Border Patrol officers declared that   [TGT] was transporting âmunitions of warâ and therefore they were taking   [TGT]   vehicle from   [TGT]  . Customs did not attempt to bring any criminal action against  him   but impounded  his  truck under civil asset forfeiture. Under that law  government officials can take a personâs property on the theory that the property itself is guilty of some wrongdoing.
 Serrano   however  wasnât about to let the CBP keep  his  truck  worth around $40 000. To fight the forfeiture   he  had to post a $4 000 bond  and promptly did so.  He  then waited and waited for the legal process to begin. As of this August   he  was still waiting. All the while   he  had to keep making payments on  his  loan and keep the truck insured.
But once  Serrano  got help from the Institute for Justice (IJ)  the government changed its tune. On October 13  CBP informed  Serrano  that it was releasing  his  truck and  he  could pick it up in Laredo  TX. As we read in this Washington Post story   he  was elated to find that the vehicle had been well cared for. It had just been washed and waxed and even had new tires.