".jdb." (brockmjd)
11/21/2016 at 15:25 • Filed to: None
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".jdb." (brockmjd)
11/21/2016 at 15:25 • Filed to: None | 0
| 22 |
I may have posted this before, but I can’t remember and it seemed like an interesting question: Let’s say it’s 10pm and you’re on a business trip. You’ve schlepped through an anonymous airport somewhere - Cleveland or Sacramento or Memphis or Hartford - and made it to the rental car lot. You’re a frequent renter so you hardly have to deal with anyone to pick up your car. You got an e-mail with the spot when you landed, and there it is: A dark silver Chrysler 200. You chuck your stuff in the trunk, give your license to the attendant on your way out, and head for the Hampton Inn. It’s late. You’re tired. You miss the speed limit 35 sign and you’re doing 53.
A gleeful cop pulls out behind you and you curse a bit but get your documents together and wait with your hands on the wheel and the car in park. The cop is having a bad day/decides to be ornery/thinks you look like an ex/doesn’t like the color of your skin and decides to search the vehicle. You say “fine, whatever” because you literally just picked up the car.
Little do you know, the previous occupant was mid-business-deal and had to get out of town in a hurry; there’s a kilo of coke tucked into the spare tire.
How screwed are you?
This question has been turning over and over in my head ever since I heard from a rental car attendant that they find a lot of guns and drugs in rental cars.
crowmolly
> .jdb.
11/21/2016 at 15:28 |
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You are fucked. At least in the short term.
Aaron M - MasoFiST
> .jdb.
11/21/2016 at 15:29 |
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Don’t ever consent to have a police officer search the vehicle without a warrant. This scenario should merely remind you that giving up your Consitutional rights puts you at the mercy of whatever dumbass had the rental car before you.
Tripper
> .jdb.
11/21/2016 at 15:30 |
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I think that is one of those situations where you could be in some trouble. However, I think it’s more likely that it would just be a major legal inconvenience. The situation in which you were pulled over I think would weight heavily on the outcome.
Rico
> .jdb.
11/21/2016 at 15:30 |
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Basically you are totally F’ed in the A. Best thing to do in that scenario is after you explain that this is a rental you just picked up and that it’s not yours just KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT. Lawyer up and wait for the entire thing to play out in court. They will do their investigation including checking it for your fingerprints/camera footage. They can check the onboard GPS to see where did you get the car from and where you’ve been stopped etc.
Most likely, as long as you’ve not been convicted of possessing or selling coke before the investigation should turn out in your favor, but no guarantee. But don’t stand there weeping trying to convince the cop it’s not yours, they don’t get to make that decision only the courts can decide it.
LPT: Just check the car before you leave the rental lot.
jimz
> Aaron M - MasoFiST
11/21/2016 at 15:39 |
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They don’t need a warrant; they’ll just get Officer Barky to come sniff around and give them probable cause.
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jimz
> .jdb.
11/21/2016 at 15:41 |
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a few jobs ago, a couple of my co-workers rented a car from near the office in Texas with the intention to drive to Reynosa (Mexico.) Unbeknownst to them there was a stash of weed in the car, and when they came back it was detected by one of their search dogs.
someassemblyrequired
> .jdb.
11/21/2016 at 15:44 |
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Had a similar thing happen to me - rental car popped for explosives going through Canadian border. They started to give me real shit, then I showed the rental agreement start time 90 minutes ago, at an airport 90 minutes from the border and my boarding pass from that afternoon. I was on my way in 20 mins. I’m guessing their equipment was fucked or the guy who had the car before me had heart issues (it was a Buick). Not sure how that situation would have devolved if they had actually found something. Would not recommend in any case.
deekster_caddy
> Rico
11/21/2016 at 15:44 |
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This. There’s plenty of evidence pointing to the amount of time you’ve had the rental, when it was turned in, how many people have had it in the last x weeks, etc. So it’s easy to build a defense that these are not your drugs. Unless they are in your suitcase/briefcase. Then you might be screwed. But if they are under a seat/spare tire/hidden compartment, I would think it’s very easy to defend.
SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
> Aaron M - MasoFiST
11/21/2016 at 15:44 |
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Lol, like police care about your rights and a judge is going to drop the hammer on them.
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Aaron M - MasoFiST
> jimz
11/21/2016 at 15:45 |
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http://www.alternet.org/drugs/blatant-intrusion-drug-sniffing-dogs-may-be-coming-end
“Absent reasonable suspicion, police extension of a traffic stop in order to conduct a dog sniff violates the Constitution’s shield against unreasonable seizures,” Justice Ruth Ginsberg wrote for the court’s 6-3 majority in Rodriguez v. United States .
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Aaron M - MasoFiST
> SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
11/21/2016 at 15:47 |
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It was a legal question, not a reality question. From an economics perspective, you still come out ahead due to the street value of the cocaine.
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SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
> Aaron M - MasoFiST
11/21/2016 at 15:50 |
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Only if you sell it before the cops find it.
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.jdb.
> jimz
11/21/2016 at 15:55 |
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Crap. How did that go down?
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Aaron M - MasoFiST
> SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
11/21/2016 at 15:56 |
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It’s an important reminder: if you find half a kilo of cocaine in your rental car, sell it quick and don’t speed.
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jimz
> .jdb.
11/21/2016 at 15:58 |
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I don’t remember exactly. they didn’t get charged or anything, but they sat in a holding cell for a while until the company (they were on business) got the legal situation worked out.
Wacko
> jimz
11/21/2016 at 16:30 |
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i thought that was officer i eat my own shit.
AMGtech - now with more recalls!
> .jdb.
11/21/2016 at 16:36 |
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I think in the end you would be fine. But I would seriously consider suing the rental agency. You know, after consulting with a lawyer about that. They should have to at least pay time lost and legal fees.
jkm7680
> Aaron M - MasoFiST
11/21/2016 at 16:53 |
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*A rental or car that doesn’t belong to you.
If you have nothing to hide, then just let them search your damn car instead of wasting their time.
DynamicWeight
> jkm7680
11/21/2016 at 17:04 |
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So you don’t mind the cops coming to your house just for a quick once over, just to make sure you aren’t doing anything illegal? And no, don’t take your time to think about your answer, just let them in, after all, you have nothing to hide and you don’t want to waste their time right?
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jkm7680
> DynamicWeight
11/21/2016 at 17:13 |
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A car is different than a house. If a cop came to my door looking for a person that isn’t in my house, sure I’d let the cop in to look around.
I don’t give two shits if a cop searches my car, there’s nothing to find in there.
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.jdb.
> Rico
11/21/2016 at 17:18 |
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Absolutely check the car, but ... within reason. I pop the glovebox & center console before I leave - mostly because I’m looking for a USB port to charge my phone. And I’ll give it the “OK, no major dents/scratches” once-over[1] before I pull out to make sure they didn’t miss a huge dent. I’d love to take the time to make sure there’s nothing lurking in the trunk, nothing wedged in the seats, etc etc.
But I generally don’t have the time.
[1]Fun trivia about that: Enterprise, at least, has a ding mask - a plastic card with a hole in it. If the dent/ding/scratch is bigger than the (quarter-sized) hole, it’s “reportable”, otherwise they don’t care. YMMV, obviously. That said, apart from “yeah, there was serious damage to the vehicle and we all know it” stuff, I’ve never had a ding/scuff/scratch called out on return.
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DynamicWeight
> jkm7680
11/21/2016 at 17:27 |
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Well, I think your opinion is valid, but I really strongly disagree with it. Here is a ted talk that talks about it. I hope you can watch it.
https://www.ted.com/talks/glenn_greenwald_why_privacy_matters