Reno, Nevada is not the only city to lose their ATF office. The ATF office in Yuma, Arizona, a town 40 miles from the border, is also empty.
The Reno Gazette-Journal discovered Yuma’s closing during their investigation of the ATF Reno/US Attorney case. However, the reasons behind the Yuma closing aren’t known yet.
Ron Gissendaner, a manager at Sprague’s Sports in Yuma and a federal firearm licensed gun dealer, told the RGJ it was because the federal prosecutors wouldn’t take the ATF’s cases. He and his staff worked well with the ATF to make sure guns were sold to good guys, not bad guys.
The Yuma ATF was having a positive impact on the town and stopped gun trafficking across the border. Since the prosecutors wouldn’t take these cases, the agents quit. Mr. Gissendaner said one agent quit and is working at a local law enforcement agency in another state. He also said that it’s tough to report suspicious activity in the area. Now people have to travel to Phoenix to report criminal activity, which is three hours away.
ATF Special Agent Tom Mangan told the RGJ the Yuma site was closed because it wasn’t busy and didn’t have anything to do with a rift with the US Attorney’s office.
I find it hard to believe the ATF in Yuma, AZ, a border town, was not busy. If this is happening in Reno and a border town it has to be happening in other places. Unfortunately, no one is answering. All questions must be directed to the Department of Justice, the most professional stonewallers of all.