Marine vet jailed in Mexico for shotgun with barrel 'an inch too short'

A Marine veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan is being held in Mexican jail, accused of bringing an illegal shotgun across the border.

Jon Hammar (shown here) and his friend were on their way to Costa Rica in August and planned to drive across the border near Matamoros in a Winnebago filled with surfboards and camping gear.

But Hammar's gear also included an antique shotgun with a barrel that's an inch too short to comply with Mexican law.

When the pair crossed the border and handed the paperwork to Mexican officials, they impounded the RV and jailed Hammar, saying it was illegal to carry that type of gun.

Family attorney Eddie Varon-Levy questioned the way Mexican officials measured the gun, because the measurements can differ depending on where they are taken on the barrel.

He said dealing with Mexican authorities has also been difficult. He said Hammar was brought to court a few weeks ago, where officials tried to convince him to plead guilty without a lawyer present.

"I am fuming," he said.

Read more in this report by The Associated Press.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/12/11/4477017/parents-fight-for-release-of-son.html#storylink=cpy

Comments

[walrus]

It is illegal for an extranjero (foreigner) to carry firearms in Mexico, and most all other Central American countries they would have had to pass through on the way to Costa Rica. Whether or not the gun barrel was too short, they were headed for trouble from the beginning. They got some bad advice from someone, or didn't check to see if carrying a gun was legal.

[Paul Mason]

Hmmmm... Put things in context:

a. It's antique.
b. Apparently, the crime was 1" too short.
c. He tried to declare it.
d. He was a Marine.
e. Apparently, his real crime was that he probably had a bit of an attitude, and failed to ADEQUATELY pay off his jailors and the judge. But that's just surmising...

I guess Obama doesn't want to get involved because it involves:
a. gun
b. White Marine
c. Brown Mexican cops/judges
d. Political issue of Dems/Repubs.

I'm sorry this guy was so naive that he got himself into this mess, and I sure hope some Republican Senator, or some such, can get him out. Obviously, no Democrat would bother, as the Military supports Republicans.