Fate of South Florida Marine Andrew Tahmooressi Undecided After Mexico Court Hearing

A South Florida Marine facing weapons charges remained jailed in Mexico following a marathon court session Wednesday.

Andrew Tahmooressi, 25, appeared before a judge at an evidentiary hearing that lasted for some nine hours and was closed to the media.

His mother, Jill Tahmooressi, traveled from South Florida to Tijuana to attend the hearing and said she was able to see her son afterwards.

"I was not able to sit in the hearing so as you know, it's been a grueling nine hours," she said. "However, the honorable judge did allow me 20 minutes after the hearing, which is unusual. I just left Andrew right now, so I was able to talk with him for 20 minutes, he's strong, he's confident."


"We feel the hearing was a success, and we feel we are finally on the right track in order to achieve what every one of us is ultimately hoping for," said Tahmooressi's attorney, Fernando Benitez.

Tahmooressi was arrested April 1 after driving his black Ford pickup over the border at San Ysidro, California, into Tijuana. Family members said Tahmooressi, who was in possession of three U.S.-registered firearms, got lost near the border after dark and took a wrong turn into Mexico.

The Marine reservist, who is from Weston and has served two tours of duty in Afghanistan, was in the San Diego area to receive treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Benitez, said there are irregularities in the case that could help Tahmooressi.


"There are multiple irregularities with the order to search his vehicle, his conveyance," Benitez said. "The order to search his conveyance is dated three days before his crossing of the border."

In addition, Benitez said pages are missing from the record.

"There are 11 pages missing from the record, which nobody seems to know what they are or what they say," he said. "The irregularities are enough to warrant our full attention at this point, I trust that when they are subject to judicial review, they will have positive results."

Tahmooressi has gained the support of Florida elected officials, including Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Sen. Marco Rubio. His family has also started a White House petition asking for his release.

It's unknown how long the legal proceedings could take, but the Marine's mother is staying positive.

"We're optimistic about the future," she said.

Contact Us