Former Marine Jailed in Mexico on Gun Charges

He's been there since August! Why wasn't this reported in the news before?

The worse part of this is his parents also got a phone call recently from the drug cartel telling them to send money or they would kill their son. 

Read both articles. There is a petition on line to the U.S. Gov't Officials here:

http://www.change.org/petitions/u-s-government-officials-get-u-s-marine-jon-hammar-released-from-a-mexican-prison?ref=unknown&fb_action_ids=10200138698812280

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Former Marine jailed in Mexico over gun

MIAMI — A South Florida family is fighting to get their son, a Marine veteran, released from a prison in a dangerous area in Mexico while facing charges that he carried across the border a shotgun with a barrel that’s an inch too short.

Jon Hammar and his friend were on their way to Costa Rica in August and planned to drive across the Mexican border near Matamoros in a Winnebago filled with surfboards and camping gear. Hammar, 27, asked U.S. border agents what to do with the unloaded shotgun, which his family said belonged to his great-grandfather.

“They examined it, they weighed it, they said you have to fill out this form,” his father, Jon Hammar, told The Associated Press in a phone interview Tuesday from his home near Miami.

But when the pair crossed the border and handed the paperwork to Mexican officials, they impounded the RV and jailed the men, saying it was illegal to carry that type of gun. Hammar’s friend was later released because the gun did not belong to him.

The family’s attorney said Mexican law prohibits civilians from carrying certain types of guns, such as sawed-off shotguns, which can be more easily concealed. Mexican law prohibits shotguns with a barrel of less than 25 inches (63.5 centimeters). Family attorney Eddie Varon-Levy said Mexican officials measured the barrel on Hammar’s shotgun as 24 inches (61 centimeters). It has not been sawed off.

Family members said the gun was purchased at Sears and blamed U.S. officials for telling Hammar he could bring it across the border in the first place.

Family members said the gun was purchased at Sears and blamed U.S. officials for telling Hammar he could bring it across the border in the first place.

Varon-Levy also 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. Varon-Levy said he didn’t show up because he was told there was a continuance.

“I am fuming,” he said.

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From The US Report:

Some media and websites are telling Hammar’s story in an attempt to resolve his case with the Mexican government. That government is viewed as corrupt by many Americans.

Map cutout: U.S. State Dept.Hammar allegedly took an antique shotgun across the border as he and a friend headed to Costa Rica for vacation. Reuters said Hammar had “registered the shotgun with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials on the U.S. side of the border, declaring he planned to take it with him into Mexico.”

http://www.theusreport.com/the-us-report/2012/12/11/website-starts-petition-to-free-former-us-marine-from-mexica.html