A Marine reservist held in a Mexican prison on weapons charges is awaiting a judge’s ruling that the jurist is ready for closing arguments from defense and prosecution.
Once those arguments are submitted, the judge will decide the fate of Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi, held without bail since April 1 on charges of violating Mexico’s strict laws against bringing weapons into the country. No deadline was announced for those decisions.
Tahmooressi, 25, who served two deployments in Afghanistan, was arrested at the San Ysidro border crossing with a rifle, a shotgun, a pistol and several hundred rounds of ammunition in his pickup truck. He told Mexican authorities that he had mistakenly crossed the border after missing the turnoff to remain in the U.S.
Tahmooressi’s mother — backed by two psychologists who submitted reports to the Mexican judge — said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Jill Tahmooressi, a nurse in Florida, issued a statement last week that the family “continues to respectfully implore the Mexican authorities to expeditiously process this case consistent with Mexican law. Words cannot express the urgency of their concern that Andrew has gone 6.5 months without any treatment whatsoever for his severe combat PTSD.”
Initially, Tahmooressi said he had never visited Tijuana and was easily confused by the roads leading to the San Ysidro crossing. But that account was undercut when it was learned that he had been in Tijuana just hours earlier, staying in a hotel next to the city’s entertainment zone.
Tahmooressi’s mother has said that his incorrect version of events was the result of bad advice from his attorney. That attorney has since been dismissed, and Tahmooressi is now represented by one of the city’s top criminal defense attorneys, Fernando Benitez.
Dozens of U.S. politicians have called on Mexico to release Tahmooressi.
