It’s been a long month for Jaqueline Anderson.
For more than a month she's been unable to speak to her son, who she said was arrested at the border on gun charges after mistakenly bringing his firearm into Mexico.
“My son never intended to go into Mexico,” said Anderson. “He missed his last USA exit.”
Rodney Dantzler, who works as a private armed security guard, had just finished a shift when he got on the I-5 and headed to a friend's house in Chula Vista.
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“My son was driving excited,” said Anderson. “He just purchased a new vehicle and he was going to show his friend and missed the exit.”
Without realizing it, Dantzler ended up crossing the border with the gun he was licensed to carry for his job, according to Anderson.
“When the officers approached him, my son asked, ‘Hey, can I make a u-turn?’ said Anderson. “They pulled him over, I guess into secondary and he said, ‘Hey, I'm a licensed security guard, I have my weapon in the trunk of my car.”
Without hesitation, Mexican authorities arrested Dantzler, Anderson said.
“He's been charged as a criminal and he's not a criminal,” she said.
In Mexico, it's a federal crime to carry a gun or ammunition.
“These are strictly prohibited and exclusive for armed forces, so even if the gun is registered to his name, even if he had a concealed carry permit with him, that wouldn't be valid in Mexico,” said Fabian Meneses, a criminal defense attorney in Tijuana. “Because you would have to have a permit from the Mexican authorities to have that in Mexico.”
Meneses is a criminal defense attorney in Tijuana who has been in touch with the family.
“This type of crime is on the list of crimes that are not eligible for bail. He could remain under custody for up to two years until he goes to trial,” said Meneses.
This isn't the first time Meneses has dealt with a case like this. In fact, he said it's more common than we may think.
“I would say that most of my clients who are arrested for having guns, or ammunition or marijuana are not criminals,” said Meneses. “They're just regular people.”
Possessing more than five grams of marijuana is also a federal crime in Mexico.
Meneses message: don't assume what is legal in the U.S. is legal in other countries
