The Hundred-Dollar Ride

The Defendant and a friend drove a rented car from Los Angeles to Mexico, unable to adequately account for approximately eleven hours of their time. While in a Tijuana bar, a stranger who identified himself only as "Ray" offered to sell them marijuana; they declined. Ray then offered to pay them $100 each to drive a car north across the US border. The Defendant's friend refused — "It didn't sound right to me." The Defendant accepted. Before agreeing, the Defendant examined the car: he checked the glove box, the area under the front seat, and the trunk. In the trunk he saw "a void" — a space suggesting a hidden compartment — but did not investigate further. He drove the car alone across the border; his friend took their rented car back separately. US Customs agents stopped the Defendant at the border. They opened the trunk and found a secret compartment between the trunk and the rear seat, containing 110 pounds of marijuana worth $6,250. The Defendant was arrested. He told a DEA agent that he "thought there was probably something wrong and something illegal in the vehicle" but assumed the border inspectors "wouldn't find anything either."