Posted on Dec 19, 2021
How brothers in arms plotted theft, sale of US Army weaponry | AP News
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Packed with rifles and explosives, the SUV hurtled down a Florida interstate beneath bright blue autumn skies, passing other motorists with little notice.
It was November 2018, and the driver, Tyler Sumlin, was uncomfortable. Clammy. The husky, bearded former U.S. Army soldier was getting a cold, and understandably tense: He was transporting a platoon’s worth of stolen rifles, enough C4 to blow up his car and those around him, a live hand grenade.
He would recall thinking, “Is it too late to turn around?”
Riding shotgun was Sumlin’s military blood brother, Sgt. 1st Class Jason Jarvis, a soldier on active-duty from Fort Bragg’s 18th Ordnance Company in North Carolina — Sumlin’s old unit.
The two men, who’d been close since they served in Afghanistan, tried to distract themselves with idle road-trip chatter. Their wives, war stories, favorite movies.
It was November 2018, and the driver, Tyler Sumlin, was uncomfortable. Clammy. The husky, bearded former U.S. Army soldier was getting a cold, and understandably tense: He was transporting a platoon’s worth of stolen rifles, enough C4 to blow up his car and those around him, a live hand grenade.
He would recall thinking, “Is it too late to turn around?”
Riding shotgun was Sumlin’s military blood brother, Sgt. 1st Class Jason Jarvis, a soldier on active-duty from Fort Bragg’s 18th Ordnance Company in North Carolina — Sumlin’s old unit.
The two men, who’d been close since they served in Afghanistan, tried to distract themselves with idle road-trip chatter. Their wives, war stories, favorite movies.
How brothers in arms plotted theft, sale of US Army weaponry | AP News
Posted from apnews.com
Crime
Weapons
Fort Liberty
Mexico
Afghanistan
Posted >1 y ago
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WOW, they sure had a lucky steak. I wonder if they had been Mexican or black, would they had gotten 5 years probation or life and a day.
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MSG Thomas Currie
Yes, they did get a good deal.
Despite all the wailing and gnashing of teeth by some of the agents involved, you can count on the fact that one or both of two things apply:
Either 1) There were major holes in the federal case
or 2) The federal case included things that the feds were totally unwilling to say in open court
Or (probably) both.
One fact of life is that any "long time informant" is a criminal -- and that every informant shades the truth in both directions (usually with a lot of coaching by their handlers).
Keep in mind that the largest supplier of weapons for the drug cartels has been the BATFE with the full knowledge and cooperation of DHS and the FBI. These two were small fish.
Despite all the wailing and gnashing of teeth by some of the agents involved, you can count on the fact that one or both of two things apply:
Either 1) There were major holes in the federal case
or 2) The federal case included things that the feds were totally unwilling to say in open court
Or (probably) both.
One fact of life is that any "long time informant" is a criminal -- and that every informant shades the truth in both directions (usually with a lot of coaching by their handlers).
Keep in mind that the largest supplier of weapons for the drug cartels has been the BATFE with the full knowledge and cooperation of DHS and the FBI. These two were small fish.
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I read the article and think WTF...
1. The soldiers involved were not naive junior personnel, but an OEF veteran and an active duty non-commissioned officer
2. The US only recovered $26K out of $180K that were stolen
3. They received probation and mental health counseling instead of prison for the weapons theft
1. The soldiers involved were not naive junior personnel, but an OEF veteran and an active duty non-commissioned officer
2. The US only recovered $26K out of $180K that were stolen
3. They received probation and mental health counseling instead of prison for the weapons theft
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