AZMEX F&F EXTRA 25 OCT 2012
ATF field office in Yuma now staffed by El Centro agents
October 24, 2012 6:28 PM
BY JAMES GILBERT @YSJamesGilbert
A spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives (ATF) says rumors that the Yuma field office has closed
are inaccurate. However, the ATF field office in Yuma is now being
staffed by agents from another nearby field office in California.
ATF special agent Thomas Mangan, spokesman for the Phoenix field
office, explained that the agency, due to the lack of cases in the
area and its limited resources, made the decision to reassign the
three agents it had in Yuma to another "busier" office.
"We haven't closed anything. It is completely inaccurate to say our
office there has been closed. It has not," Mangan said. "The bottom
line is the Yuma field office is open and there are ATF resources
there. We haven't skipped a beat or lost anything."
The ATF opened the Yuma field office, which is located at 2270 S.
Ridgeview Dr., Suite 202, about two and a half years ago during
Project Gunrunner, an operation intended to stem the flow of firearms
into Mexico and deprive the Mexican drug cartels of weapons.
Mangan said a majority of the investigations into gun trafficking
cases that originated in Yuma were leading back to Maricopa County,
where a majority of the guns involved in those cases were actually
being purchased, so the cases were eventually handed over to Phoenix
agents.
He said that because the ATF is underfunded, the decision was made to
reallocate the Yuma field office agents to the Phoenix field office
and reassign them to other investigative groups within the division,
where they could be put to better use.
As for the Yuma field office, Mangan said it is now covered by ATF
agents from El Centro, which has a field office that is heavily
staffed and has agents to spare.
Mangan said the El Centro agents who are now staffing the Yuma field
office actually live in Yuma and will be able to handle the
investigations into cases here when needed.
While the ATF has closed its office in Reno, Nev., because the U.S.
attorney's office there was not prosecuting cases brought to them by
local ATF agents, Mangan said it has nothing to do with what happened
in Yuma.
Mangan said that he wanted to stress that the ATF has a good
relationship with all law enforcement in the Yuma area and the Yuma
County Attorney's Office.
Read more: http://www.yumasun.com/articles/office-82682-yuma-
field.html#ixzz2AKKId5LT
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