Detained U.S. Marine vet’s mental health evaluated
A federal judge in Tijuana is expected to receive reports this week on the mental state of Andrew Tahmooressi, a U.S. Marine veteran behind bars since he drove into Mexico with firearms and ammunition on March 31.
At the time of his arrest, Tahmooressi was undergoing treatment in San Diego for post-traumatic stress disorder, and his attorney says that he has not been receiving proper care in Mexico.
“We do not have the capacity in our correctional system to afford Andrew the specialized treatment that he requires,” Fernando Benítez said in an interview Monday.
A psychiatrist working for the prosecution was sworn in as an expert witness on Monday before Judge Víctor Luna Escobedo, Benítez said. Dr. Alberto Pinzón Picaseño of Mexico City was expected to drive to El Hongo State Penitentiary outside Tecate to meet with Tahmooressi.
A defense psychiatrist, Dr. Sergio Medina, has met with Tahmooressi, and written a report of his findings. “Hopefully, we will have both reports before the judge tomorrow,” the attorney said.
Tahmooressi served two tours of duty in Afghanistan before receiving an honorable discharge in 2012. At the time of his arrest, he had recently moved to San Diego from Florida, and claims that he made a wrong turn when he drove into Mexico’s El Chaparral Port of Entry in a truck filled with his possessions — including three loaded firearms and more than 400 rounds of ammunition. If convicted of federal weapons and firearms charges, he faces up to 21 years behind bars.
Benítez has been advocating for the dismissal of Tahmooressi’s case on several fronts. One argument has been that his client’s rights were violated when customs officials kept Tahmooressi in custody for eight hours without an attorney or translator present.
It was unclear how the psychiatrists’ testimony could lead to dismissal of the case, but Tahmooressi’s mother, Jill, said she hopes “minimally the prosecutors will recognize that he can’t be treated in Mexico. They honor the rehabilitation of their prisoners, but they do not have the ability to rehabilitate a foreign combat PTSD because they don’t have experience in that.”
Jill Tahmooressi, who speaks with her son by telephone nearly every day, said that after nearly six months of incarceration, he is “desperate and despondent. … His state of mind is not getting any better.”
Tahmooressi’s detention has become a cause celebre among veterans groups and conservative talk shows and social media sites calling for his release. On Wednesday, congressional supporters have scheduled a hearing focusing on Tahmooressi before the House Western Hemisphere Subcommittee.
The hearing, entitled “Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi: Our Marine in Mexican Custody,” is expected to center on Tahmooressi’s PTSD, with testimony from his mother and Montel Williams, the media personality and retired Navy officer.
U.S. State Department officials have been closely following the case and have provided consular assistance but have said little publicly. Mexico’s federal government has been tight-lipped since June, when it issued a statement saying that Tahmooressi’s rights were being respected, and that his case would be resolved through the courts.
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