Update: The U.S. Marine who has been jailed in Mexico over the past two months was told to lie about his travels to the country by his former Mexican attorney, who was fired Wednesday during a preliminary hearing in Tijuana Wednesday, according to his mother and information provided by Fox News.
Jill Tahmooressi, the mother of Marine reservist Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi, had previously told TheBlaze that attorney Alejandro Osuna was "not trustworthy and had asked Andrew to say things he didn't agree with."
"[Osuna] told Andrew that this is Mexico — things are different here — you can't say you've been here before," she told TheBlaze. "Andrew didn't like this attorney and he didn't like feeling pressured saying something that wasn't true."
Jill Tahmooressi had said her son was pressured into telling a different story. He had been to Mexico before while he was seeking treatment in San Diego for PTSD, she said.
But the judge on Wednesday ordered the 25-year-old Marine back to prison to await trial, according to reports from the region.
Osuna was replaced with a new legal team, who were also at the Tijuana courthouse with him, Fox reported.
Officials at the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C., told TheBlaze Wednesday they could not comment on Tahmooressi's case because of the ongoing proceedings.
Original story below.
U.S. Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmoorhessi will appear before a Mexican judge for the first time Wednesday since he was jailed two months ago after he crossed into Mexico with three registered guns in his car.
U.S. Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi was set to appear before a Mexican judge Wednesday for the first time since he crossed into Mexico with guns in his car. (Photo courtesy of the Pentagon)
Tahmoorhessi said he crossed the border accidentally by getting in the wrong lane near a Southern California border crossing. He had been seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder in San Diego and was traveling with all of his belongings in his car, including his firearms. TheBlaze was the first to report on the 911 call made by Tahmoorhessi when Mexican border police began to surround his car at the crossing in San Ysidro.
Tahmoorhessi,who was meritoriously promoted to Sergeant on the battlefield in Afghanistan, was in San Diego seeking treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He had survived several attacks in Afghanistan.
Fox News reported that Tahmoorhessi will be able to tell his story to the judge in the Tijuana courtroom. His Tijuana-based attorney, Alejandro Osuna, said the Mexican soldiers who were at the scene will also be able to give their statements.
Jill Tahmoorhesi, Andrew's mother, previously told TheBlaze she does not believe that the "Mexican system of justice will give my son the chance to fully explain his side of the story."
Jill, who lives in Weston, Florida, visited her son in Mexico this month and said he was hungry and worried. She said he has been threatened with death, rape from other inmates and when he tried to escape to save his life, was shackled for roughly 32 days by prison officials and placed in solitary confinement. She issued an urgent plea for his release this month asking supporters to sign a White House petition for the administration's support.
Tahmooressi told the Mexican border guards that he had weapons in his vehicle after he said he missed his turn and accidentally crossed into the country on March 31, according to the 911 call and his mother's conversation with her son. He faces up to 21 years in a Mexican prison.
According to several reports, one of the Mexican customs officials was going to walk Tahmooressi back across the border that night but was stopped by a Mexican soldier, who put him in custody.
The Obama administration said last week that State Department Secretary John Kerry had "raised the issue" several times during meetings this week with officials in Mexico City.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters that Tahmooressi has been visited 11 times by U.S. consular officials.
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