A Mexican judge ordered the immediate release Friday of a U.S. veteran who had been in jail for seven months on weapons charges.
U.S. Marine reservist Sgt. Andrew Paul Tahmooressi was arrested March 31 after Mexican customs agents in the border city of Tijuana found three weapons in his truck. It is illegal to bring guns into Mexico.
“It is with an overwhelming and humbling feeling of relief that we confirm that Andrew was released today after spending 214 days in Mexican jail,” his family said Friday in a statement.
Tahmooressi maintained throughout his imprisonment that he entered Mexico on accident after taking a wrong turn on the California side of the border.
In the release order, the court said it could not prosecute Tahmooressi and recommended he be treated for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
“[Tahmooressi] is a hero who served his country bravely on the battlefields of Afghanistan, which is why so many Americans have been focused on getting him home,” said Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif.
“The family is overjoyed. They are asking for privacy at this time,” a family spokesman said Friday night.
Tahmooressi proceeded to San Diego, California before flying to Miami, Florida earlier this morning.
