PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – A licensed real estate agent was recently indicted by a federal grand jury on multiple charges that include conspiracy to traffic firearms, conspiracy to sell firearms illegally, providing false statements to a firearm dealer, conspiracy to traffic illegal drugs, and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.
According to federal investigators, between March of 2022 and June of last year, Braden Hobbs, 27, of Jacksonville, purchased more than 120 firearms from three different federally licensed gun dealers in Jacksonville, then illegally sold those guns on the street to drug dealers, drug traffickers, and convicted felons.
Federal authorities said there were multiple occasions in which Hobbs advertised firearms for sale to potential customers before he completed the purchase of the firearms from federally licensed gun dealers. Federal investigators also said customers had paid Hobbs cash for the guns or traded drugs for the guns. According to investigators, Hobbs was aware that some of his customers intended to resell the weapons and were either drug users or drug dealers.
Hobbs did not act alone, investigators found.
According to the feds, Hobbs asked unnamed co-conspirators to assist him in finding buyers for the guns, and those co-conspirators advertised the firearms for sale. Cell phone records later showed that one of the unnamed co-conspirators regularly purchased guns from Hobbs.
Hobbs is accused of making straw purchases at licensed gun stores. A straw purchase is when someone who is legally allowed to own a gun purchases the weapon for someone who is not legally allowed to own a firearm.
According to federal investigators, law enforcement started investigating Hobbs when several guns he had purchased were recovered during unrelated drug raids on homes suspected of being drug houses.
Retired JSO Director of Investigations and Homeland Security, turned News4JAX Crime and Safety Analyst, Tom Hackney, said this case highlights how straw purchases get guns on the street into the wrong hands.
“You have to imagine that of those 120-something guns that he’s accused of buying and selling, there’s got to be more. It’s so widespread when you think about the number of guns that are out there that there are probably murders associated with those guns, because again, you’re putting them in the hands of the criminal element. What are they going to use them for? For their intended purposes,” Hackney said before commenting on how this case validates the idea that criminals don’t solely get their guns from home and car burglaries.
“This really highlights that burglaries are not the only way guns find their way into the criminal element. It’s a criminal element that is supplying them, and this highlights the nexus between drugs, guns, and violence,” Hackney said.
In addition to being a suspected firearm trafficker, federal investigators said Hobbs was also trafficking illegal drugs.
Court records show that in June of last year, Hobbs was arrested by Jacksonville police for suspicion of driving under the influence.
It was during that traffic stop that officers discovered Hobbs had 330 grams of cocaine, 17 grams of Adderall, and paraphernalia associated with drug trafficking. According to court documents, the evidence found in his car led to multiple drug charges, including trafficking cocaine, which was the most serious felony charge.
While in the Duval County jail, Hobbs received an additional criminal charge after investigators said he assaulted a corrections officer.
Hobbs posted a $120,000 bond to get out of jail and was awaiting his day in court when he was recently indicted on illegal gun charges.
If convicted, Hobbs could face up to 95 years in prison.
Hobbs is a licensed real estate agent who worked out of a Ponte Vedra Beach office.
An employee at the corporate office confirmed to News4JAX that Hobbs was still employed with the company and that his real estate license was still valid.