A Florida real estate agent has been indicted on multiple charges related to the trafficking of firearms and drugs.
Braden Hobbs, an agent with Florida Homes Realty & Mortgage in Jacksonville, fell into the law enforcement investigative scope when several firearms he had purchased were recovered in the homes of drug distributors and a convicted felon. Through further investigation, agents discovered that between March 2022 and June 2024, Hobbs had purchased more than 120 firearms from three different federally licensed firearms dealers in Jacksonville, with 67 of those firearms being purchased between January and June 2024. Hobbs then sold those firearms to others in transactions involving either cash or drug trading. Not only was Hobbs aware that some of his customers intended to resell the firearms and were drug users or drug distributors, but he also asked his co-conspirators to assist him in finding buyers for the firearms.
Hobbs is not a federally licensed firearms dealer, as required by federal law. When he purchased the firearms from the federally licensed firearms dealers, he indicated on the required ATF Form 4473 that he was the actual buyer or transferee of the firearms. Hobbs also indicated that he was not a user of or addicted to controlled substances. However, Hobbs was not the actual buyer or transferee of the firearms, and he was a habitual user of controlled substances.
In addition, Hobbs was distributing controlled substances, including over 500 grams of cocaine and Adderall. He routinely advertised controlled substances for sale and coordinated deals. Hobbs often sold the controlled substances to the same customers to whom he was selling firearms.
On June 26, 2024, Hobbs was arrested by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for driving under the influence and trafficking in cocaine. During a search of Hobbs’s car, officers located approximately 330 grams of cocaine and 17 grams of Adderall, as well as various items used to package and distribute controlled substances.
Hobbs was charged with conspiracy to traffic firearms, conspiracy to deal firearms without a license, dealing firearms without a license, making a materially false statement to a licensed firearms dealer, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances—including 500 grams or more of cocaine, and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. If convicted, Hobbs faces a minimum sentence of five years, up to 95 years, in federal prison.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
If the agent arrested was a man, why do you have a photo of a woman in handcuffs? Recently, you posted an extremely unflattering photo of Kamala Harris when there are thousands of photos of her. Who ARE you people?
I also saw the photo of a woman’s body in this photo. Stop putting the wrong photos out there. As far as the Real Estate Agent, he should go to jail for a long time. And why does the state of Florida not have safe guards about one person buying numerous weapons? Is the weapons lobby so large that it has law enforcement officers on their payroll?
I was thinking the same thing about the huge number of guns he purchased. Why did this not send up a red flag? This is where the problem starts.