Weston Marine Held in Mexico Speaks to San Diego Newspaper

A group of congress members have reached out to the Mexican government in hopes of freeing a Weston Marine veteran from a jail in Mexico.

A bipartisan group of 21 lawmakers, including South Florida's Debbie Wasserman Schulz, sent a letter to Mexican officials urging them to have weapons charges against him dropped Andrew Tahmooressi.

Tahmooressi, 25, has been held on weapons charges since March 31, after he says he made a wrong turn and wound up at the California-Mexico border at Tijuana.

He sat down with the San Diego Union Tribune to tell his story, about what happened after Mexican border agents discovered three licensed weapons inside his truck.

"I said , 'I have three guns,' and I showed them where the guns were, and they checked out the guns, and I say, 'I didn't even mean to be in Mexico," Tahmooressi told the Tribune's UT TV Reporter Sandra Dibble.

"It's a mistake for me to be here. Can I just go back to the border?' Five minutes later, I was surrounded by like 20 military officials and police officers with guns watching me."

Tahmooressi, who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan, found himself facing charges of illegal weapons possession and trafficking and behind bars.

Back in South Florida, his mother, Jill has led efforts to expedite his return, including rallies and an online petition to get President Obama involved.

"I'm pleading to the American public to sign the White House petition, so that I can get a 100,000 signatures," she said.

Tahmooressi said he moved cross-country to San Diego, California for treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, with all of his things in his truck -- including his guns.

But those plans that went awry when he made a wrong turn in California and wound up in Mexico.

He insists the weapons are legal, and he had no intentions to commit any crimes.

The familiy has set up a petition on the White House website to try and get a response. Click here to sign the petition.