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Jon Hammar, a former U.S. Marine jailed in northern Mexico, is seen in an undated photograph provided by his family. Hammar was heading to Costa Rica on a surfing expedition when he was arrested for "possession of a deadly weapon" because of the length of the barrel of his shotgun, even though he registered the weapon with U.S. officials before entering Mexico.
on Hammar, a former U.S. Marine jailed in northern Mexico, is seen in an undated photograph provided by his family. Hammar was heading to Costa Rica on a surfing expedition when he was arrested for "possession of a deadly weapon" because of the length of the barrel of his shotgun, even though he registered the weapon with U.S. officials before entering Mexico.
An ex-Marine who survived dangerous patrols in Iraq and Afghanistan is now chained to a bed in a notorious Mexican prison after a road trip to Costa Rica went terribly wrong, his friends and family say.
A chorus of supporters are calling on the Mexican government to release Jon Hammar, 27, who was jailed in August for carrying an antique shotgun that he believed could be legally registered in Mexico.
Hammar, of Palmetto Bay, Fla., was headed to Costa Rica for a surfing trip to try and recover from post-traumatic stress after four years of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The only time Hammar is not losing his mind is when hes on the water, fellow Marine veteran Ian McDonough, who was arrested with Hammar during the August incident but later released by Mexican authorities, told McClatchy newspapers.
Hammar and McDonough had stocked up a used Winnebago with surfboards and camping supplies and had just crossed the border from Brownsville, Texas into Matamoros, Mexico, where they were detained.
Hammar had registered the shotgun, a Sear & Roebuck model that once belonged to his great-grandfather, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials on the U.S. side of the border.
After being told by U.S. agents the shotgun posed no problem and could be reigstered in Mexico, Hammar and McDonough crossed the border, tried to declare the weapon, and found themselves separated and behind bars.
"The crux of it is the length of the barrel," his mother, Olivia Hammar, 46, told Reuters. "There's an old law on the books that says it can't be under 25 inches...It's a 2-foot barrel...It's strictly a technicality."
Its a glorified BB gun, she said.
article_hammar_1212
Handout/Reuters
Jon Hammar, a former U.S. Marine, has been jailed for four months in a case one lawmaker called "outrageous."
McDonough, who has Argentine residency in addition to his U.S. citizenship, was freed a few days after the Aug. 13 arrest and walked back to Brownsville.
But the nightmare was just beginning for Hammar, who on Aug. 20 was charged with carrying a deadly weapon and placed in a prison known as CEDES in Matamoros, a notorious facility heavily populated, and run, by Mexicos dangerous drug cartels.
His parents have even received late night phone calls saying he would be killed if they failed to make thousands of dollars in payments into a Western Union account.
He was housed in a wing controlled by the drug cartel, said Eddie Varon-Levy, a Mexican lawyer hired by the family. He told Reuters the charges in Mexico appear to be an effort to make an example out of the gringo."
The Embassy of Mexico in Washington D.C. did not immediately respond to a request from the Daily News about Hammar's case or why he wasn't turned back at the border.
After receiving the death and extortion threats, Hammars family made frantic calls to U.S. diplomats who were able to get the former Marine temporarily placed in solitary confinement.
n addition to fearing for his physical safety, friends and family are concerned that the extreme stress of the situation is taking its toll mentally.
"He's getting more and more hopeless," said Olivia Hammar.
Hammar, who spent four years in some of the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan and Iraq, had been honorably discharged and sought treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. He had witnessed the death of a fellow Marine who was killed by a sniper's bullet in Falluja, Iraq, friends said.
Describing Hammar as a gentle and dependable man, fellow Marines were shocked to hear of his latest plight.
Its heartbreaking. This is a guy who I served with in numerous combat situations, and he was one of the best we had, veteran Marine Sgt. James Garcia told McClatchy.
With few answers and their son facing up to 12 years in prison on the gun charge, his family is now calling on U.S. lawmakers to intervene with the Mexican authorities on their sons behalf.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., the chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Hammars local representative, called the case outrageous.
His family has described a very disturbing situation that includes their son being chained to a bed in a very small cell and receiving calls from fellow inmates threatening his life if they did not send them money, Ros-Lehtinen said.
The family wants their son back home, and I will do my best to help them, she said.
There's also a "We the People" petition that has gained more than 8,000 signatures in just a few days.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. took to the Senate floor Tuesday to urge the Mexican government to release Hammar immediately.
The Mexican authorities, if it is against the law to take a gun in, even though he had already declared it at U.S. customs, the Mexican authorities could have sent him back into the United States and told him, Dont bring your great-grandfathers shotgun into Mexico, Nelson said.
They have put a United States Marine, who has honorably served his country, in a Mexican jail since last August. Now, enough is enough, he said.
Nightmare in Mexico: Friends, family call for the release of ex-Marine jailed in Mexico after trying to declare an antique shotgun - NY Daily News
on Hammar, a former U.S. Marine jailed in northern Mexico, is seen in an undated photograph provided by his family. Hammar was heading to Costa Rica on a surfing expedition when he was arrested for "possession of a deadly weapon" because of the length of the barrel of his shotgun, even though he registered the weapon with U.S. officials before entering Mexico.
An ex-Marine who survived dangerous patrols in Iraq and Afghanistan is now chained to a bed in a notorious Mexican prison after a road trip to Costa Rica went terribly wrong, his friends and family say.
A chorus of supporters are calling on the Mexican government to release Jon Hammar, 27, who was jailed in August for carrying an antique shotgun that he believed could be legally registered in Mexico.
Hammar, of Palmetto Bay, Fla., was headed to Costa Rica for a surfing trip to try and recover from post-traumatic stress after four years of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The only time Hammar is not losing his mind is when hes on the water, fellow Marine veteran Ian McDonough, who was arrested with Hammar during the August incident but later released by Mexican authorities, told McClatchy newspapers.
Hammar and McDonough had stocked up a used Winnebago with surfboards and camping supplies and had just crossed the border from Brownsville, Texas into Matamoros, Mexico, where they were detained.
Hammar had registered the shotgun, a Sear & Roebuck model that once belonged to his great-grandfather, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials on the U.S. side of the border.
After being told by U.S. agents the shotgun posed no problem and could be reigstered in Mexico, Hammar and McDonough crossed the border, tried to declare the weapon, and found themselves separated and behind bars.
"The crux of it is the length of the barrel," his mother, Olivia Hammar, 46, told Reuters. "There's an old law on the books that says it can't be under 25 inches...It's a 2-foot barrel...It's strictly a technicality."
Its a glorified BB gun, she said.
article_hammar_1212
Handout/Reuters
Jon Hammar, a former U.S. Marine, has been jailed for four months in a case one lawmaker called "outrageous."
McDonough, who has Argentine residency in addition to his U.S. citizenship, was freed a few days after the Aug. 13 arrest and walked back to Brownsville.
But the nightmare was just beginning for Hammar, who on Aug. 20 was charged with carrying a deadly weapon and placed in a prison known as CEDES in Matamoros, a notorious facility heavily populated, and run, by Mexicos dangerous drug cartels.
His parents have even received late night phone calls saying he would be killed if they failed to make thousands of dollars in payments into a Western Union account.
He was housed in a wing controlled by the drug cartel, said Eddie Varon-Levy, a Mexican lawyer hired by the family. He told Reuters the charges in Mexico appear to be an effort to make an example out of the gringo."
The Embassy of Mexico in Washington D.C. did not immediately respond to a request from the Daily News about Hammar's case or why he wasn't turned back at the border.
After receiving the death and extortion threats, Hammars family made frantic calls to U.S. diplomats who were able to get the former Marine temporarily placed in solitary confinement.
n addition to fearing for his physical safety, friends and family are concerned that the extreme stress of the situation is taking its toll mentally.
"He's getting more and more hopeless," said Olivia Hammar.
Hammar, who spent four years in some of the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan and Iraq, had been honorably discharged and sought treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. He had witnessed the death of a fellow Marine who was killed by a sniper's bullet in Falluja, Iraq, friends said.
Describing Hammar as a gentle and dependable man, fellow Marines were shocked to hear of his latest plight.
Its heartbreaking. This is a guy who I served with in numerous combat situations, and he was one of the best we had, veteran Marine Sgt. James Garcia told McClatchy.
With few answers and their son facing up to 12 years in prison on the gun charge, his family is now calling on U.S. lawmakers to intervene with the Mexican authorities on their sons behalf.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., the chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Hammars local representative, called the case outrageous.
His family has described a very disturbing situation that includes their son being chained to a bed in a very small cell and receiving calls from fellow inmates threatening his life if they did not send them money, Ros-Lehtinen said.
The family wants their son back home, and I will do my best to help them, she said.
There's also a "We the People" petition that has gained more than 8,000 signatures in just a few days.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. took to the Senate floor Tuesday to urge the Mexican government to release Hammar immediately.
The Mexican authorities, if it is against the law to take a gun in, even though he had already declared it at U.S. customs, the Mexican authorities could have sent him back into the United States and told him, Dont bring your great-grandfathers shotgun into Mexico, Nelson said.
They have put a United States Marine, who has honorably served his country, in a Mexican jail since last August. Now, enough is enough, he said.
Nightmare in Mexico: Friends, family call for the release of ex-Marine jailed in Mexico after trying to declare an antique shotgun - NY Daily News
