Mexican Attorney General Defends Decision to Prosecute Jailed US Marine Gulf News
go to original June 7, 2014

Andrew Tahmooressi is escorted out of a court house in Tijuana May 28, 2014. (Reuters)

MEXICO CITY - Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office on Friday defended its decision to prosecute a US Marine veteran who was jailed after he drove into Mexico in April with three guns in his truck.

The office said in a statement that Andrew Tahmooressi was arrested on weapon charges because he was carrying a pistol, shotgun and rifle and ammunition when he crossed into Tijuana.

“In Mexico, like in the United States, ignorance of the law, error, misperceptions or misunderstandings about the consequences of violating a law, are not exemptions from responsibility,” prosecutors said. The possession of any weapon restricted for the use of the Army is a federal crime in Mexico regardless of whether visitors declare it or not upon entering the country.

Tahmooressi’s mother, Jill Tahmooressi, said her son was headed to dinner in San Ysidro, California, on March 31 when he mistakenly wound up at a border-crossing point in Tijuana. He has said he never intended to leave the United States but missed an exit.

Read the rest at Gulf News

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