The Marine held in Mexico on a questionable gun charge will be released from prison in Mexico, reports confirmed Friday.
Jon Hammar, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been in held in a Mexican prison, after he was arrested in August and charged with a federal weapon felony — facing up to 15 years in prison, for carrying an antique gun into Mexico on his way to Costa Rica for a hunting and surfing trip — despite having a required permit and attempting to declare the gun.
“The court ruled on the motion that excluded the evidence on the charge because of a violation of his constitutional rights under Mexican law which resulted in the charge being dropped,” Hammar’s father, Jon Hammar Sr. told Fox News during a layover in Houston on his way to pick up his son.
According to Hammar Sr., he will be driving home with his son as he is concerned how a flight home will affect him.
“Jon and I will drive back to Florida to give him some time alone, I don’t think he would do well on a flight back,” Hammar Sr. said.
Hammar has been held in Matamoros, Mexico at the CEDES prison where he has reportedly faced harsh conditions, including being chained to his bed, isolation, and death threats from fellow prisoners — which his family feared could worsen his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The family’s excitement has been dulled by caution, however until Hammar is entirely out of the country.
“His security is at stake until he cross the border into the U.S.,” the family’s lawyer Eddie Varon-Levy told Fox News.
A number of U.S. lawmakers had pushed hard for his release.
California Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter, a Marine veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, called for a travel boycott of Mexico until Hammar was released, Thursday. Saying that “Marines don’t leave each other behind and I’m willing to do whatever I can to see that he comes home safely.”
Friday, Hunter welcomed the news of Hammar’s upcoming release.
“I’m glad better sense prevailed in Mexico and there’s now a plan in place for Jon Hammar’s release,” he said in a statement. “It’s unfortunate that Jon and his family had to endure this situation, but the issue is only resolved when he steps foot back on American soil.”
“We couldn’t believe it, but prayers and hard work really paid off,” Florida Republican Rep. Lleana Ros-Lehtinen told The Miami Herald. “It looks like we will have him home for Christmas.”
