AMERICAN INGENUITY PENALIZED!

A secret Compartment to Hide and Charge iPhone in Your Car Could Cause You to Need an Attorney

There was a time when American ingenuity and resourcefulness were characteristics admired around the world. However, this piece demonstrates that ship sailed long ago. An essential part of any successful drug smuggling enterprise includes vehicles with secret compartments where drugs can be secreted for their perilous cross-country voyage. The premier designer of these compartments was Alfred Anaya who designed intricate, almost undetectable secret compartments that could only be opened by hitting various buttons and switches in succession. One trap installed behind the back seat of a truck, “which Anaya had rigged with a set of hydraulic cylinders linked to the vehicle’s electrical system. The only way to make the seat slide forward and reveal its secret was by pressing and holding four switches simultaneously: two for the power door locks and two for the windows.”

Alfred’s customers were undoubtedly thrilled with his handiwork. However, the DEA and the US Attorney’s Office were not amused and charged him with being part of a drug conspiracy. The evidence was clear that Anaya was not involved in the drug business and took great pains to avoid asking his clients about their need for secret compartments. Nonetheless, a jury found Anaya guilty of being part of the conspiracy and he is now serving more than 20 years in the federal pokey.

Federal law doesn’t expressly cover these feats of engineering so the conspiracy statute is the sword used by federal prosecutors. In 2012, however, Ohio passed a law making it a felony to knowingly build or install a trap “with the intent to facilitate the unlawful concealment or transportation of a controlled substance.” A week before Thanksgiving, Norman Gurley was arrested for simply having a secret compartment in his car. Though the compartment was completely empty, troopers still claimed that Gurley intended to use it to smuggle illegal drugs and charged him with a felony. Gurley’s case presents several obvious proof problems for the State and it’s too early to know whether they’ll be able to shoulder their burden.

Read the article here: Defense Attorney Crime Article