After accidentally crossing the border into Mexico with guns in his vehicle, a highly decorated former Marine was detained with his children and later released. He had accidentally crossed the border with hunting rifles after taking a wrong turn in Texas.
Retired Marine First Sergeant Jeromie Slaughter, 38, decided to take his 14-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter on a hunting trip to a deer lease located near Rocksprings, Texas, according to Click2Houston.com. His family said he had not been to the lease before and made a wrong turn.
Rocksprings is located approximately 70 miles from the Texas/Mexico border at Del Rio.
Slaughter’s family said he ended up on a road that led to Ciudad Acuna, Mexico. “He knew they were lost and when he seen the sign that said ‘no guns,’ you know, no weapons, he knew that he had gone too far,” Slaughter’s mother Beverly McKinney, told the Houston TV station.
He apparently ended up on a bridge leading to Mexico and realized he had nowhere to go. Upon arriving at the Mexican border crossing checkpoint, Slaughter asked for permission to turn around and return to the U.S. The Mexican authorities said no and detained him and his children after they discovered the three rifles and several dozen rounds of ammunition he was carrying.
It is against the law in Mexico to possess rifles and ammunition. Numerous signs are posted at border crossings to warn American’s who are used to the freedom of carrying firearms of the danger of crossing into Mexico with weapons or ammunition.
Slaughter was allowed to make a call to his mother after being detained, the news outlet reported. His two children were eventually released Friday night, after the maternal grandfather crossed the border and escorted his grandchildren back to the U.S.
The assistant Secretary of State for Mexico and the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico were made aware of his situation and eventually negotiated a settlement with the Mexican government.
Slaughter, who retired from the U.S. Marine Corps last year, earned a Bronze Star for combat action during one of several tours he spent in Iraq. He planned the hunting trip to make up with his children for some of the time he lost during his deployments.
“He’s been away for so long, he’s trying to catch up on that dad stuff.” McKinney told Click2Houston. “That’s what this trip was for Thanksgiving weekend.”
In August, 2014, Marine Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi was released from a Mexican jail after spending more than 150-days in prison, Breitbart California reported. Tahmooressi had also accidentally crossed into Mexico after taking a wrong turn in southern California. Because of the types of weapons he was carrying, Tahmooressi could have faced more than 20 years in a Mexican prison.
In 2012, another Marine, Jon Hammar, was detained and later released after crossing the Texas border into Mexico with an sixty-year-old Sears and Roebuck .410 shotgun, Breitbart News’ Tony Lee reported. He had been told by U.S. Customs officials he would be okay with that particular weapon. Mexican officials said the gun was illegal after measuring the barrell. He was eventually released after charges were dropped.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas and is a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.
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