United States v. Esparza

On February 19, 2011, Esparza attempted to enter the United States in a Chevy Lumina. At a border checkpoint, a narcotics dog alerted on the car’s gas tank and over 50 kilograms of marijuana was found in the gas tank and dashboard. Esparza informed the border patrol officer that the car belonged to a friend named Julio, documentation showed, however, that the car was registered to a Diana Hernandez. On February 24, 2011, border patrol sent Hernandez a written Notice of Seizure informing her the government had seized the car. On March 21, 2011, after consulting with her ex-boyfriend, Felipe Sanchez Escobedo, Hernandez sent the DMV a Notice of Transfer/Release of Liability form with a statement claiming she sold the Lumina to Arturo Esparza on February 13, 2011. At trial, Sanchez testified that he did not know Esparza and in January 2011 he had sold the car to a man named Ricardo Dominguez Morales. Dominguez had never picked up the title from Sanchez. After receiving a call from Hernandez about the car, Sanchez confronted Dominguez who then gave Sanchez a Notice of Transfer/Release of Liability form partially filled out indicating Hernandez had sold the car to Arturo Esparza. Testimony at trial also revealed that Esparza knew Dominguez as “Lulu” or “Julio.”