Alfred Anaya Put Secret Compartments in Cars. So the DEA Put Him in Prison(DISCLAIMER)

DISCLAIMER, at the link provided there is inappropriate material during the description of the events that followed to this guys arrest.

Wired

Alfred Anaya took pride in his generous service guarantee. Though his stereo installation business, Valley Custom Audio Fanatics, was just a one-man operation based out of his San Fernando, California, home, he offered all of his clients a lifetime warranty: If there was ever any problem with his handiwork, he would fix it for the cost of parts alone—no questions asked.

Anaya’s customers typically took advantage of this deal when their fiendishly loud subwoofers blew out or their fiberglass speaker boxes developed hairline cracks. But in late January 2009, a man whom Anaya knew only as Esteban called for help with a more exotic product: a hidden compartment that Anaya had installed in his Ford F-150 pickup truck. Over the years, these secret stash spots—or traps, as they’re known in automotive slang—have become a popular luxury item among the wealthy and shady alike. This particular compartment was located behind the truck’s backseat, 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.

Esteban said the seat was no longer responding to the switch combination and that no amount of jiggling could make it budge. He pleaded with Anaya to take a look.

Anaya was unsettled by this request, for he had suspicions about the nature of Esteban’s work. There is nothing intrinsically illegal about building traps, which are commonly used to hide everything from pricey jewelry to legal handguns. But the activity runs afoul of California law if an installer knows for certain that his compartment will be used to transport drugs. The maximum penalty is three years in prison. Anaya thus thought it wise to deviate from his standard no-questions-asked policy before agreeing to honor his warranty. “There’s nothing in there I shouldn’t know about, is there?” he asked. Esteban assured him that he needn’t worry.

Esteban drove the F-150 to Anaya’s modest ranch-style house and parked by the back porch. A friend of his, who introduced himself as Cesar, followed right behind in a black Honda Ridgeline truck. The 37-year-old Anaya, a boyishly handsome man whose neck and arms are covered with tattoos of dice and Japanese art, tested the switches that controlled the truck’s trap. He heard the hydraulics whirr to life, but the seat stayed firmly in place. He would have to use brute force.

Anaya punched a precise hole through the upholstery with his 24-volt Makita drill, probing for the screws that anchored the seat to the hydraulics. After a few moments he heard a loud pop as the drill seemed to puncture something soft. When he finally managed to remove the backseat, he saw what he had hit: a wad of cash about 4 inches thick. The whole compartment was overflowing with such bundles, several of which spilled onto the truck’s floor. Esteban had jammed the trap by stuffing it with too much cash—over $800,000 in total.

Scroll to page 4 of the story and it gets into the case details.

A common hacker refrain is that technology is always morally neutral. The culture’s libertarian ethos holds that creators shouldn’t be faulted if someone uses their gadget or hunk of code to cause harm; the people who build things are under no obligation to meddle in the affairs of the adults who consume their wares.

After reading the story do you think this guy deserves his punishment? Was he actually breaking the law, or was he aiding in breaking the law? I'm kind of on the fence in this case.... part of me thinks he should know better and part of me thinks, well the guy needs to make a living and if hes not involved in breaking the crime then why is he liable?

I dont have the link to see page 4, but initially HELL NO.

A crafter makes things for customers, how they use with them or what they used them for is not the point.

You cant jail a cardboard box manufacturer for making boxes for someone who uses them for carrying illegal things inside them, thats just crazy! Or maybe suing Levi jeans because someone had a gun tucked in the waist band!

Now if before the work is done they say "i need this made for illegal activity's" which i doubt they would, you as the crafter would say, "im sorry i have to say no to this work".

reply to post by Biigs


I agree with what you said, we would be putting to many people out of business if this were true.

Gun makers, gym owners, computer manufacturers, the list goes on.

reply to post by onequestion


Oh i edit to add source into the OP, check it again.

reply to post by onequestion


Ahh thank you.

Now i have read the full article, i definitely think this is NOT a criminal act by the crafter of the hidden stashes.

People want a hidden stash for all sorts of reasons, i think the most common one is hiding AND SECURING a licensed weapon in a vehicle (or simply a high value item). If a hidden gun is used for a crime does that suddenly make the person who installed the secret compartment, liable for the crime in any way? Why the heck would it?!

I can buy a hammer from the hardware store and bash someones face in with it, do the cops arrest the guy at home depo that sold it to me?

Silly really i feel sorry for the guy. This is a clear example of 'police state' calling all the shots; reason and logic (and law!) be damned, a sad state of affairs indeed.

reply to post by onequestion


my guess, and this is only a guess, is the law enforcement will drop all charges. that is only after they make a public spectacle of the man. after they create an expensive legal battle for him. and by doing this the law enforcement can send a message to all the "want to be" stash makers to beware. or not get into the business of making hiding spots in the first place.

Didn't Anaya get sentenced to far more time in prison than drug-dealers using his 'product'?

I do think Anaya is acting disingenuous in his 'turning a blind eye', and ignoring the obvious, but I feel to imprison him for this is much too disproportionate compared to what other sentences were received. I also think the 'War on Drugs' is an enormous crock which has wasted too many lives, and benefits organised crime at the expense of normal citizens (but that is another story altogether).

Sounds like they (the law) are trying to make an example out of him for the wrong reasons.

Help the crime, share the time?

Theres a limit to aiding a criminal do their thing and if you dont even know how on earth can it be avoided?! If it is to make an example, surely this sends the wrong message completely.

It won't be long until anything done to enhance personal security, privacy, or liberty will be punishable by law.

The DEA and a plethora of other parts of the alphabet are terrorist organizations. They incite fear in common people and use force to control and propaganda to spread their message.

The war on drugs isn't so much about what drugs a person choices to do, it's all about whose drugs a person choices to do. Alcohol, tobacco, and the pharmaceutical industries all have a vested interest in the "War on Drugs."