The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (and Really Big Fires) is hot to catch gun buyers buying guns in America to smuggle to Mexican drug lords. So hot that they’re willing to tout entirely misleading information about Mexican gun traces. (Quick aside: did you know that the average gun traced by the ATF for the Mexican was 14-years-old?) So hot that the ATF wants to create an illegal long gun registry. So hot that employees of the $1.4 billion agency may have walked hundreds of modern home defense sporting rifles across the border, one of which might have been used to kill a U.S. border agent. So hot that they’ve nabbed Tempe, AZ plumber Edward Hossa, his brother and two cohorts for attempting to export guns to Mexico. Hey, Inspector General, there’s your big fish! Ready? Here we go [via eastvalleytribune.com] . . .

According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Arizona, Edward Hossa enlisted Jeremy Hossa, Yarrow and Valenzuela to purchase the firearms on his behalf.

Authorities say Jeremy Hossa bought four rifles and one handgun in Apache Junction in September and Yarrow purchased two handguns in Mesa in November so Edward Hossa could smuggle them into Mexico. Valenzula is accused of buying five handguns in July and November at two different stores in Glendale, according to information from ICE.

Four rifles and eight handguns (of unspecified caliber and age) do not a Mexican drug lord’s arsenal make. And remember: the weapons didn’t actually make it across the border. Does this sound like the thin edge of a vast criminal conspiracy to create an “iron river” of guns from the Bob’s Gun Store to Los Zetas to you?

Thursday’s arrest was not Edward Hossa’s first run-in with the law, according to Maricopa County Superior Court records.
Hossa, who owns Alpha Omega Plumbing, was arrested by Chandler police in 2003 on suspicion of three counts of marijuana and cocaine-related charges, but the case was later dismissed, according to court records. During the proceedings, prosecutors had introduced information to the court that Hossa also had prior cocaine-related convictions in Illinois in the late 1970s.

In May 1977, Hossa was arrested for the sale of cocaine and convicted the following January. Two months later, in March 1978, Hossa was arrested on suspicion of distributing cocaine and carrying firearms during the commission of a felony and was convicted the following July, according to county court records.

It may not sound that way to you, but someone sure wants it to . . .

In a statement issued by ICE, U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke said, “Weapons smuggling rings fuel the violence south of the border. Straw purchasers disregard the consequences for the allure of the quick cash. They can’t claim ignorance to their direct contribution to the bloodshed. These arrests are proof that our office along with ICE and ATF are committed to shutting down these organizations and interdicting southbound weapons.”

Question: what if two federal agencies were fully committed to shutting down the flow of weapons to the Mexican drug cartels, but the cartels were actually getting the vast majority of their weapons from the Mexican police, the Mexican military, their neighbors to the south, the Chinese and various criminal enterprises in Eastern Europe? Would the agencies ever admit that they were like the drunk looking for his keys under a streetlamp because the light’s better?

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13 COMMENTS

  1. Thursday’s arrest was not Edward Hossa’s first run-in with the law, according to Maricopa County Superior Court records.

    I think almost every adult man and woman in this country has probably heard of Maricopa County by now. Wonder why…

  4. Great article and even greater question~ In that, my daughter Lynda is one of the accused~ I know how it reads and I understand that ignorance is not an excuse~ But without saying too much, my daughter is truly afraid for herself and her children in more ways than one, and is deeply saddened at the thought of what these firearms could have been used for because I assure you that IS NOT what she was told~Lynda has rarely stopped crying and apologizing to all of us since thursday, and is devastated that she has just destroyed her chance at being a second grade school teacher~ I beg anyone who is judging her and her horrible mistake to take a brief look at her facebook to get a glimpse of the beautiful, loving, and non-threatening young woman that is not only my daughter but my best friend~ A truly compassionate human being that just recently spent her last 27 dollars to buy a backpack for a neighborhood homeless man because his belongings were stolen, and bought pet food for his dog, and later that day loaded her children into the car and drove 40 miles to pick up her favorite camping coat from her friends house to give to this man because it was the biggest and warmest one she had and he needed it more than she did~ For Christmas Lynda asked for only a new diaper bag and for myself and her siblings to purchase something from the Xmas Angel Trees at the mall~ She is very active in her church and extremely close to several members, and does more for her friends and family on a daily basis than she does for herself~ I love my daughter and could go on and on, but I hope I have shared enough for the readers that are judging her and assuming the worst, to maybe take a moment and rather pray for her and our family and anyone who was possibly affected by her actions~ Thank you so much for your time~

  5. P.S. The 2 weapons in the lower right corner of the photo they keep showing, belong to, and are registered to my boyfriend, and were retrieved from MY house during the ambush Thursday morning and shouldn’t even be in the photo. (ATF and ICE are fully aware there is nothing illegal about them). Clearly they just needed to fill some space in their magnificent round up~

  6. …my son jeremy is a good man with a good heart!!! he is not a criminal-he is innocent until proven guilty!!!

  7. Jeremy is one of oldest and dearest friends…he is first and foremost a wonderful father, a protective friend, and would give anything in the world for the ones he loves! I am certain there is more to this than what is being released, as I know first hand how the media puts their spin on things based on one side of the story. As his mother said…innocent until proven guilty!

  8. its kinda fµ¢×t how thay can call lynda a stra purchiser when with the way arizonas gun laws are today and how stupid and simple it is to buy any hand guns,rifles wether thair simi or fully automatiic from a private seller because you dont need to ask for any identification nor need a bill of sells ,ive herd plenty of stories on how they’ve purchist guns and later found out it was a stolen firearm so negligence is not against the law ,buying and reselling guns is no different from buying and selling anything else for a profet especially how today economy is .i never new it was agenst the law to not follow were and what you sell ends at or for . i think atf can figure out how lynda is not apart of what the headlines accuse her of being. atleast i whould hope so if thair protecting ower fredom

  9. I also know Jeremy, I played cards with him on several occasions and know him to be a good father and kind man as well~ God Bless and Good Luck to all parties involved~

  10. I think one of the greatest missteps of our governments judicial system is that even though we say ‘innocent until proven guilty’ often times, the accused is treated just the opposite. Jeremy is a good man and an even better brother and I will never be ashamed to say that. The man you are all claiming to be a criminal is the same man that sang to me songs, told me jokes when I was crying, and grilled all of my boyfriends to make sure they were treating me the way he saw fit. So before anyone passes judgement on the accused, take a second, and remember a time when maybe someone has said YOU were a certain way or had done something, and the rumors and accusations started flying before YOU were given a chance to clear your name. What I’m saying is the government, the media, and the population have a funny way of putting a spin on things to make them appear how they wish. So please, remember that. Like my mom (WHO RAISED US RIGHT) said, innocent until proven guilty.

    • Well said Angelicah! He has always been very protective! He was my “big brother” in high school and everytime I needed him, he was always there sometimes even before I realized how much I needed him there. He is one of the most loving, loyal, compassionate people anyone would have the pleasure of meeting. The truth WILL come out so that he continue to get his life on track and be the man we all know and love!

  11. …in a time deficient in truth and certainty-along with heart felt anguish and despair- no “Mother” should feel shame in attempting to expose just a portion of her childs good heart still known!!! with all due respect ~ just know-that we being their Mother-our hearts for our children now painfully ache!!! ~ namaste’

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