Tennessee police officer held in Mexican jail after bringing gun into country

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A Tennessee police officer is currently jailed in Mexico after Cancun authorities reportedly found a pistol in his luggage.

According to local WKRN, Lemandries Hawes, an officer with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, was arrested at the Cancun airport on July 9. His department said Hawes declared the personally owned firearm with the airline, but Mexican law still prohibits bringing guns into the country.

Hawes was scheduled for a hearing on Monday. Fox News reached out to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department Tuesday morning, but they did not have any new information for the time of publication. 

Officer Hawes is new to the Metro Nashville police, having just graduated from their academy in February after starting with them in October. According to Fox13, he has more than five years of experience working with Tennessee law enforcement, having previously worked with the Memphis Police Department from March 2017 through September 2021.

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Metropolitan Nashville Police Officer Lemandries Hawes is being held in a Mexican jail after a pistol was found in his luggage (Metropolitan Nashville Police Department)

A number of Americans have been detained in Mexico on gun charges in recent years. Last October, Arizona man Ira Beavers was sentenced to nearly three years after he and his family drove into Mexico with a gun in their car, that he said he forgot to remove.

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In early 2021, Arizona teacher Kayria Rosales spent nearly seven weeks in a Mexican jail for the same offense. Rosales told local News12 that she was with friends on a Spring Break trip when they got pulled over and found the gun that she normally keeps in a travel bag.