Junior Douglas Stevenson and Elbert Nero, Also Known as Albert Nero v. United States

The appellants were arrested in Sonoita in the State of Sonora, Mexico, by the local Chief of Police, who became suspicious when he found them attempting to sell two tires from a new 1966 Ford Thunderbird automobile which they were driving. The appellants were unable to produce any title papers for the auto. The Chief of Police notified the Mexican Chief of Immigration in Sonoita, who wrote a letter about the appellants to American immigration authorities. At the same time Mexican authorities telephoned the Chief of Police in Ajo, in the County of Pima, Arizona, which county lies on the Mexican-American border, the Mexican state of Sonora being on the opposite side of the border. The Ajo authorities informed the Sonoita authorities that two 1966 Ford Thunderbirds had been reported stolen in Arizona, and that the description of one of them corresponded with the description of the Ford driven by the appellants.

The appellants were transferred by the Sonoita police to Mexican immigration authorities, who transported them to the border, where they were delivered to sheriff’s deputies from Maricopa County, Arizona, at the Lukeville, Arizona, port of entry. They were taken by the…