06/19/11 – Charges against former Tijuana mayor Jorge Hank Rhon and 10 others were dropped last Tuesday June 14 and the suspects have since been released. 88 guns, 9,298 bullets, 70 ammunition clips and a gas grenade were found in an unwarranted raid of the ex-mayor’s home last week. Only ten of the weapons were licensed and not one of them registered to Hank Rohn. In addition, two of the guns have been traced to murder cases and 49 of the weapons are categorized as exclusively to be used by the armed forces.
According to Assistant Attorney General Patricia Bugarin, judge Blanca Evelia Parra Meza, who handled the case, acted with “bias and subjectivity.” The judge allowed questionable surveillance camera tapes from Rhon’s home as evidence, which has sparked controversy due to the fact that the tapes could have easily been edited. The judge also refused a request from state prosecutors to hold him for a homicide investigation. The dismissal of these charges has created concern that it sets the example that illegal weapon possession will go unpunished.
For more information on Hank Rhon’s initial arrest, click here.
Sources:
Impreso Política. “PGR: juez promueve impunidad de Hank.” Milenio. June 16, 2011.
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