US congressman seeks release of Marine veteran jailed for driving into Mexico with guns

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39. UPDATES: Tahmooressi Changes Story -- and Attorneys

Last edited Wed May 28, 2014, 11:34 PM - Edit history (1)

New details muddy Marine vet's story?
The head of Mexican customs in Tijuana said (May 13) that Marine combat veteran Andrew Tahmooressi did not claim he was lost when he drove across the San Ysidro border with loaded guns — contradicting the American’s story, which took a new turn when details emerged indicating he had visited Tijuana before.

Also, email correspondence from Tahmooressi’s lawyer seems to show that the attorney coached his client to not reveal the prior trips to Mexico. The latest details cloud the picture of what happened with Tahmooressi on late March 31 at the San Ysidro border crossing, but his mother and Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, are standing by the Marine veteran’s story of accidentally driving into Mexico...

Tahmooressi Changes Attorneys at 5/28 Mexico Hearing
Andrew Tahmooressi, a 25-year-old Marine Corps veteran, will wait a little longer to make his case against weapons-possession charges after dropping his defense attorney at a brief hearing in a Tijuana courthouse.

Switching counsel may signal a new legal strategy for the Florida man who was detained March 31 after driving across the border into Tijuana with three U.S.-registered guns and more than 400 rounds of ammunition. Under Mexico's strict gun laws, some or all of the weapons are considered to be for the exclusive use of the Mexican military.

“We had some disagreements about how information was presented,” his now-former defense attorney Alejandro Osuna said today after the hearing. However, Osuna said that Tahmooressi is looking good and is in good spirits. He also maintained his former client's innocence. “He shouldn't be here,” the Tijuana lawyer said, though he added that he thinks the American is “getting a fair shot” in the Mexican justice system.

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