A Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) officer has been incarcerated in Mexico since early July on a gun charge, according to Monday reports.
MNPD officer Lemandries Hawes was arrested on July 9 in Cancun, Mexico, after he arrived in the country with a gun.
The gun, which Hawes kept in his checked baggage, was reportedly declared with the airline, but it is a federal offense to enter Mexico with a firearm.
Hawes had a hearing on the charges Monday, but no update was immediately available.
The Tennessee Star reached out to MNPD for further clarification, but had not heard back by press time.
MNPD has said that it is in contact with Hawes’ family as the judicial process plays out in Mexico.
Reports say that Hawes is new to MNPD, having been hired as a trainee at the end of last year.
Still, he has experience in law enforcement. He reportedly worked for the Memphis Police Department from 2017 until his departure in 2021.
Several Americans have recently been jailed in Mexico for the same offense.
Last November, Arizona man Ira Beavers was arrested when he and his family attempted to cross into Mexico. Mexican officials found a gun, which Beavers says he forgot to remove from his car, under his seat.
He was sentenced to three years in jail, leaving his wife to fight for his freedom.
Kayria Rosales was traveling to Mexico with friends in April of 2021 when Mexican police searched a travel bag in which she accidentally left her personal firearm.
Like Beavers, she was arrested and sent to jail, where she spent almost a month before finally being released.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
