Fast and Furious Connection Not Ruled Out in Found Assault Rifles, Says Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada
See also: Arizona Sheriffs Call for Independent Investigation of "Fast and Furious" Gunwalking Scandal
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Sheriff Tony Estrada of Santa Cruz County on some rusty, old guns found in the desert: "We haven't discounted that possibility" that the find is related to Fast and Furious.
Even a few rusty guns found in the desert are enough to raise questions about a "Fast and Furious" angle, and enough to make an Arizona sheriff curious.
On Friday, officials from the Santa Cruz Sheriff's Office announced that three assault rifles had been found on June 20 in the desert, about 20 miles north of the Arizona-Mexico border.
When we called Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada this morning, it turned out we weren't the only reporters asking whether the guns could be some of federal government's "walked" guns. We weren't even that serious in asking the question, believing that a "yes" answer was rather unlikely. But Estrada answered without hestitation, "We haven't discounted that possibility."
Image: www.free-extras.com The Arizona desert: One vast repository of stashed guns and drugs.
Though the Fast and Furious scandal was already months old when Arizona U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke resigned over it last August, it blew up in the headlines again last week when the U.S. House voted to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for refusing to turn over requested documents.
The three guns -- two SKS's and an AK-47 -- were found in a black, plastic bag by a hiker in Madera Canyon.
"They were rusted and had dirt on them," Estrada says. "Obviously, we'll
check with (the ATF) to find out where the weapons orginated.
The firearms could have come from almost anywhere, considering the hundreds of gun stores in Arizona that sell such weapons.
But thanks to the federal government's misguided program allowing
suspected cartel members to buy and smuggle firearms, when old guns are
found just lying around in the desert, the first thought of many Americans just might be: Hey, a present from Eric Holder!
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