Marine to be released from prison in Mexico

Marine to be released from prison in Mexico

Courtesy Hammar Family

 

An anonymous email account from Mexico sent Jon Hammar's family the above photo of the ex-Marine chained to a bed at CEDES prison in Matamoros, Mexico. 

A former Marine imprisoned in Mexico for trying to enter the country with an antique shotgun will be released Friday and should be home in time for Christmas, a U.S. lawmakers confirmed.

A Mexican judge ruled Friday to free Jon Hammar, 27, from the notorious CEDES prison where he has been jailed since August after trying to declare the weapon at the border.

A spokesman for Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), one of the most vocal proponents of Hammar’s release, confirmed to the Daily News that a gun charge against the former Marine will be dropped and he was expected home in days.

The court ruling came as a bit of a surprise. Mexico’s ambassador to the United States, Arturo Sarukhan, penned a letter this week saying Hammar had been rightly arrested in August for the “federal crime” of carrying a shotgun “restricted for the exclusive use of the Mexican Armed Forces.”

FAMILY, LAWMAKERS CALL FOR MARINE'S RELEASE

Hammar and a friend were en route to Costa Rica for a surfing trip when they passed through the border checkpoint in Brownsville, Texas, allegedly declaring the old shotgun to U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents.

The agents allowed the pair to continue, allegedly telling them the gun wouldn’t be a problem at the Matamoros, Mexico checkpoint. There, Hammar tried to declare the gun and both he and his friend, a former Marine, were immediately arrested. His friend was released days later.

AMBASSADOR'S LETTER CURBS HOPE OF MARINE'S RELEASE

The chain of events at the border was almost “like a trap,” Hammar’s father, Jon Hammar Sr., told the  News earlier this month.

Hammar, who spent four years in Afghanistan and Iraq and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, was jailed in CEDES, a well-known lockup for criminals linked to Mexico’s violent drug cartels. His life has allegedly been threatened and his family says they received late night extortion calls to their home in Florida seeking thousands of dollars to keep the young man safe.

For his own protection, prison officials, with the help of U.S. diplomats, moved Hammar out of the prison’s general population. For a time, he was handcuffed to a bed because there were no cells available, a source said.

Hammar's parents began a very public push this month to get him freed. U.S. lawmakers, including Ros-Lehtinen and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla),, joined the chorus of calls urging Mexico to drop the felony charge, which could have kept him behind bars for 12 years.

"We're grateful; this is a good Christmas present," Nelson said in a statement.

Hammar's defense attorney argued the arrest was based on a misunderstanding and the attempt to declare the gun showed he had no criminal intent nor was he aware of Mexico's gun laws.

Mexican diplomats in the U.S. would not confirm Hammar's impending release Friday.

"At this time we will not be providing any comments confirming or denying this information," said
Lydia Antonio, a spokeswoman for the Embassy of Mexico.

Mexican officials maintained that Hammar was arrested according to the letter of the law, and that border guards did not have discretion to send him back to the U.S. border.  They also say the Marine's rights were respected and the judicial process was observed.
 

vcavaliere@nydailynews.com