Marine Held in Mexico on Weapons Charges Has Third Court Hearing Today Tony Perry - The Los Angeles Times
go to original September 9, 2014

Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi remains in a Mexican prison on weapons charges. He was arrested April 1. (Carline Jean/MCT)

A U.S. Marine held in a Mexican prison on weapons charges since April 1 is slated to attend his third evidentiary hearing Tuesday in Tijuana where his attorney plans to argue that his rights were violated by the arresting officers.

The hearing is likely to take all day, and no immediate decision is expected.

Tahmooressi's lawyer has cautioned his supporters that a decision could be weeks away as a federal judge sifts through conflicting accounts of the night the sergeant was arrested.

Tahmooressi was taken into custody after crossing the border at San Ysidro with a rifle, shotgun, pistol and about 500 rounds of ammunition in his pickup truck.

The 25-year-old reservist insists he crossed the border by mistake after missing the last exit to remain in the United States.

His attorney, Fernando Benitez, argues that the customs agents who arrested Tahmooressi violated Mexican procedure by not providing him with a translator and not getting a judge's approval before searching his truck. There are also irregularities with the paperwork documenting the arrest, he said.

At Tuesday's hearing, the federal judge may review the video surveillance of the border crossing the night that Tahmooressi was arrested. Mexican federal authorities had resisted providing the video to the judge.

Read the rest at The Los Angeles Times

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!