Marine held in Mexican jail losing hope he’ll be freed, mother says

A Marine held in a Mexican prison for six months is set for a court hearing Monday amid concern by his mother that he has become “highly despondent.”

“He’s definitely losing hope and confidence he will be able to get out of jail,” Jill Tahmooressi told Bill O’Reilly of Fox News.

Tahmooressi’s son, Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi, is set for his fourth hearing Monday on weapons charges. He has been behind bars since April 1 after being arrested on the Mexican side of the San Ysidro border crossing with weapons in his pickup truck.

His mother, who lives in Florida, said that she talks frequently with her son by telephone. In his prison cell, she said, he is allowed only two books: the Bible and Dallas minister T.D. Jakes’ “Let It Go: Forgive So You Can Be Forgiven.”

Tahmooressi, 25, a reservist who served two deployments to Afghanistan, insists that he crossed the border by mistake.

Dozens of U.S. politicians have called on President Obama and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto to free Tahmooressi so he can return to San Diego and receive treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Mexican officials, however, have said that the case will be decided by the court system, not by political involvement from Washington or Mexico City.

On Wednesday, a hearing in Washington of the House subcommittee on the Western hemisphere is set to take up the Tahmooressi case. The hearing was called by the subcommittee chairman, Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.), who has visited Tahmooressi in his prison cell and called for his release.

Set to testify are Jill Tahmooressi and talk-show host Montel Williams, who served in the Marine Corps and Navy. Also scheduled as witnesses are Robert Buchanan, a Marine who served with Tahmooressi in Afghanistan, and Pete Hegseth, chief executive officer of Concerned Veterans for America.

Williams sent a Twitter message that he agrees with O’Reilly that there has been a “lack of political courage in both presidents” to free Tahmooressi.

On Sept. 9, an eight-hour hearing was held so a federal judge could view video from 18 surveillance cameras from the night that Tahmooressi was detained and then arrested.

Tahmooressi’s attorney, Fernando Benitez, argues that his client’s rights were violated by Mexican customs agents who arrested him.

Benitez said a forensic photo and video report ordered by the judge will prove a central part of Tahmooressi’s defense: that he mistakenly drove into Mexico after missing the last turn to remain in the United States.

Tahmooressi had three weapons and several hundred rounds of ammunition in his pickup truck when he drove into Mexico. In a 911 call after being detained, he told the operator that he had mistakenly driven across the border.

Tahmooressi remains without bail in a prison outside Tecate in the Baja California state. Initially after his arrest, he was held in the notoriously dangerous La Mesa prison outside Tijuana.

Benitez said customs agents who arrested Tahmooressi violated Mexican procedure by not providing him with a translator and not getting a judge’s approval before searching his truck. There are also irregularities with the paperwork documenting the arrest, he said.

Under the Mexican legal system, a judge holds multiple hearings to hear all sides of the case before deciding, without an American-style trial by jury, whether the defendant is guilty. If convicted, Tahmooressi could face up to 21 years in prison.

A psychiatrist has been retained to provide a report to the judge about Tahmooressi’s PTSD. Benitez argues that the Mexican legal system is not equipped to give his client proper care.