United States v. Kevin Rangel-Guzman

It is said that every dog has its day. Unfortunately for Kevin Rangel-Guzman, the drug detection dog at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry was having a fine day on September 5, 2011, when Rangel-Guzman and a friend attempted to reenter the United States. The dog alerted to their vehicle, and Customs and Border Protection officers conducted a search. Officers found 91.4 kilograms of marijuana, hidden in a compartment behind the backseat. Good dog!

Rangel-Guzman and his Mend were promptly arrested and interviewed separately. They both said Rangel-Guzman had borrowed the car so that they could drive from Los Angeles to Ensenada, Mexico. Rangel-Guzman, but not his Mend, was charged with importation of marijuana. See 21 U.S.C. §§ 952 , 960.

At his trial, Rangel-Guzman told a convoluted tale that differed substantially from the story he had given the border agents immediately after his arrest. He claimed that he met his Aunt Martha and cousin Daniel for the first time at a Quin-ceanera — a traditional Latino celebration of a girl’s fifteenth birthday. During the Quinceanera, which allegedly occurred just a month prior to Rangel-Guzman’s arrest, Martha invited him to a wedding in…