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US marine held in Mexican jail Tijuana


rogerm

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What I am wondering is: Are some folks seeing the U.S. A. through rose colored glasses?

What life was a number of decades ago is nothing like what it is, in the present.

In any case, the fella who came across the border with weapons should not have, any more than a Mexican doing so going in the opposite direction, so what are we really talking about?

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A few years ago a friend of mine in San Miguel had a run-in with a man on a bicycle. My friend said it was basically a side-swipe where the bicycle clipped his car as it was speeding down a hill and ran through a stop sign. The young man wasn't hurt, but the bike was damaged. My friend had lived in Mexico for a decade, spoke moderately good Spanish; he and the young man started to discuss payment to fix or replace the bike, which my friend was willing to do since it was an old bike to start with.. However, the young man's friends/family soon showed up and encouraged him to claim he was injured and call the police, which he did. When the police arrived the man and his family insisted he be taken to the hospital. At that point my friend was taken to jail. His insurance agent didn't arrive until very late that night (a Sunday). Later, the young man declined to have the police place charges made against my friend, in exchange for a large settlement from the insurance.

I realize this happens in the US, too (insurance fraud), but the issue in Mexico is that the hapless driver ends up in a Mexican jail. While he was neither threatened or beaten while in jail, it was not a pleasant experience. My friend stopped driving after that jail experience and I have since sold my car and am a pedestrian after a dozen years of driving in Mexico.

I'm not judging the Mexican legal system, but people do need to be aware that they are at risk of going to jail if they are involved in a car accident; many of the newer expats I meet here do not have the Spanish skills that I think are necessary to handle this sot of situation. Yes, your insurance agent will intervene, post bail, etc. But often his/her arrival means you will be detained in jail for hours if not a day or two while things are sorted out.

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What the former Marine was doing was illegal even in the US. Three loaded weapons unsecured in the drivers compartment with 400 rounds of ammo? The guy has been treated for PTSD, hopefully he is released, but gets more help. PTSD and a rifle, shotgun and .45 pistol and driving with them does bode well.

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First thing that comes to mind is if a Mexican were to be caught bringing a firearm into the US he might be arrested and put in jail.....but he would have the Right to make bail and get out of jail. He would not be chained to his bed a beaten by anyone who passed by. I have lived in Mexico probably longer than most of you, since 1993. Most of that time I have been uneasy or uncomfortable with what could happen if the authorities or who ever decide one day I have done something wrong and I end up in jail trying to prove I am innocent. When you cross the border to Mexico you leave your human rights north of the border.

As far as breaking the law as soon as he crossed the border he told customs he had made a mistake called 911 for help admitted he had firearms in his car.

An Gringal if you like injustice you are living in the right place

The official story told to Mexican police and media was this "brave young Marine" was driving to San Ysidro to meet friends for dinner,

Tahmooressi claimed he had not been to Mexico before,

Tahmooressi claimed he "accidentally drove into the Exiting Mexico" 6 lane wide one-way roadway and didn't know what was happening.

A road changes to 6 lanes across - all one way - going into official booths for each lane - with big Entering Mexico signs, and we don't know what's happening?

Tahmooressi claimed he "accidentally entered Mexico",

Tahmooressi told Mexican police that he "did not intend to enter Mexico", and

Tahmooressi then innocently claimed he "did not know the rules".

Tahmooressi and his family went on to claim he "had a gun for personal protection".

If the elaborate tail Tahmooressi told police and media is true, then is the 100,000 signature US Tea Partier and NRA petition requiring that the White House immediately demand his release, reasonable?

Consider the facts, as Tahmooressi now tells them:

Fact: Tahmooressi was committing multiple US felonies by driving around with all the weapons and ammo in California.

Fact: Tahmooressi now admits he had been in Tijuana 6 previous times.

Fact: Tahmooressi did not just "go for dinner", but instead spent the earlier part day "carousing around in Tijuana" on foot - barhopping - unarmed - and only later brought in his guns for his "dinner" trip.

Are we to believe that walking around Tijuana all day bar-hopping (unarmed) is now supposedly safer than a drive to a Tijuana restaurant?

Fact: Tahmooressi parked his pickup with his AR-15 assault rifle, 12 ga. shot gun and a .45 in the back seat his vehicle, parked in a US public parking lot on the border while he went partying around Tijuana on-foot. The weapons left in the parked truck are the same ones he had in his possession when he was arrested and charged when trying to drive into Mexico.

Is this reasonable - how many of us have left a small arsenal in the back-seat, unattended in a public parking lot?

tahmooressi-marine-arms-tijuana.jpg?w=96

http://www.mexicotrucker.com/cold-hard-facts-concerning-the-case-of-andrew-paul-tahmooressi-caught-in-mexico-with-illegal-firearms/

Tahmooressi claims he "had a gun for personal protection".

Fact: Tahmooressi had 400 rounds of ammunition for these weapons in his possession, plus extra clips for both the assault rifle and the .45 . Is the claim of "just for personal protection" believable?

Fact: Possession and transport of these weapons and transport are felonies in California.

Are the Mexican charges arbitrary or unreasonable ?

Mr. Tahmooressi is charged under the Mexican Federal Code with “possession of weapons for the exclusive use of the military” for the .45 caliber pistol & the AR-15 assault rifle. For the shotgun, Tahmooressi is charged with possession of a weapon without the required permits.

Mexican law gives some allowance to intent, but Mr. Tahmooressi is only charged with “possession”. Ignoring US NRA/Tea Party and media pleas about Tahmooressi's "intent", media descriptions & emotional internet pleas about Tahmooressi's "intent" to not bring the weapons into Mexico has nothing to do, legally, with Mexico's formal charges.

Tahmooressi's initial 6 big lies to the police and press do not help his credibility.

Tahmooressi's family's continuing lies and emotional pleas to the media do not help their credibility.

Andrew Paul Tahmooressi's own recent statements show he is guilty of all charges.

Some propose that Tahmooressi cruised Tijuana on-foot during his daytime visit to find a buyer, and was returning to Mexico at night to complete the illegal deal... ?

BigD wrote:

"I have lived in Mexico probably longer than most of you, since 1993. Most of that time I have been uneasy or uncomfortable with what could happen if the authorities or who ever decide one day I have done something wrong and I end up in jail trying to prove I am innocent. "

Fortunately, the facts of the Tahmooressi case show that BigD has little to worry about, unless he commits felonies in the USA and Mexico, tries to run some guns into Mexico, and then lies to police.

In light of the facts:

Is the 100,000 signature US Tea Partier and NRA supporters petition requiring that the White House immediately demand his release, reasonable?

Are internet demands by US patriots that Tahmooressi is being abused and demands for his immediate release, reasonable?

I personally am reassured that the Mexican police and border agents did their jobs, keeping us all safer, on both sides of the border.

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To add to this a blog from Expats living in Baja: A well know long time Rosarito Expat Vet visits him in jail the moment the news broke the first week to assure him he will keep visiting and checking in on him and tells his story on the Baja blogs. He was at that time in jail less than 1 week. He had self injured his neck, tried to escape the infirmary by going onto the roof and climbing over 3 razor wire fences before being brought back and chained to the bed. He claimed he was threaten the first day in jail by thugs. He claimed they moved him to the infirmary to protect him. He claims not one person put a hand on him and was treated well talking to the Vet that visits him when in La Mesa jail.

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It continues to amaze me how some people will spend hours quoting something they read in a newspaper then sit back and think that people actually believe what they have just repeated or re-written. Dot think anyone around here was involved in the actual event or know the facts.

And by the way Snoowycoo there has never been a question about whether he broke Mexican Law, question is how he has been treated since his arrest in Mexico

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Dot think anyone around here was involved in the actual event or know the facts.

Including yourself,but that didn't stop you from posting your OP.
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I still maintain that the real answer for lots of expat and tourist problems is for the USA and Canada to make their laws recipocal. Treat nationals from other countries the same way each of those countries treat your citizens in all things.

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It continues to amaze me how some people will spend hours quoting something they read in a newspaper then sit back and think that people actually believe what they have just repeated or re-written. Dot think anyone around here was involved in the actual event or know the facts.

And by the way Snoowycoo there has never been a question about whether he broke Mexican Law, question is how he has been treated since his arrest in Mexico

"An Gringal if you like injustice you are living in the right place".

Where did I say I like injustice?

I say that you're kidding yourself if you don't realize that injustice exists everywhere, and the amount of "justice" you receive is largely based on your bank account, your position in society, your skin color and in the case of all those Japanese arbitrarily held in concentration camps for years, your ethnicity.

I hate injustice. I'm living in the right place, for me, at this point in time, and I'm abiding by the laws in force in the place I'm living now, just as I did back in the States. I don't wear rose colored glasses like some of the people who think liberty and justice exist in a country just because they want it to.

You don't need to know much about the history of the U.S. to be aware of the kinds of injustice that have been brutally meted out to many of its inhabitants over the years.

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Amen..Geeser That's called a level playing field.

A lot of people who weren't wearing rose colored glasses died so that they could keep their Liberty and Justice. Maybe you have read about a couple???

Which has absolutely no bearing on this topic. The law was broken and the perpetrator was apprehended by the Mexican authorities and will be dealt with according to Mexican law. The status of the perpetrator at present or previously, is of no concern in the investigation, etc. On the surface, it seems obvious that he was trying to run guns; a very serious crime in either direction.

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His mother mentions he pulled a gun on a family member before leaving for California and the police in Florida responded. It appears they dropped the ball by not confiscating his weapons and taking him involuntarily to a Psychiatric Hospital for 72 hour observation.

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BidD has no facts to support his emotional appeals, so he attacks the sources:

BigD claims that the information he dislikes are from the papers, but BigDe ignores the realities of what the world's busiest border crossing actually looks like:

tijuana-border-crossing2.jpg?w=640

tijuana-border-crossing1.jpg?w=640

Does anyone believe that a rational person could drive into this big border crossing, and then reasonably claim that

"I didn't know I was entering Mexico."

There is more to reality than people blaming inconvenient facts on supposedly poor sources.

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It is possible to take the entrance into mexico... a lot of vehicles are going 80mph to the border and you can get distracted by those vehicles. I have been distracted and i am always looking for the small yellow sign that says "last usa exit".

Its a shame that it takes so long to get this usa military person back to his country.

I would like spencer to have a program that people can join to have the proper support during an accident.

I do remember a couple of years back a resident of chapala was in gdl and in an accident....she was held over night....

My suggestion is for those who can to ourchase a loxi cam that goes on your ear and its a 7 hour camera to help in case of someone lying on whos fault the accident was.

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It is possible to take the entrance into mexico... a lot of vehicles are going 80mph to the border and you can get distracted by those vehicles. I have been distracted and i am always looking for the small yellow sign that says "last usa exit".

Its a shame that it takes so long to get this usa military person back to his country.

I would like spencer to have a program that people can join to have the proper support during an accident.

I do remember a couple of years back a resident of chapala was in gdl and in an accident....she was held over night....

My suggestion is for those who can to ourchase a loxi cam that goes on your ear and its a 7 hour camera to help in case of someone lying on whos fault the accident was.

No one can drive 80 mph to get through this crossing. I bet he talked to an undercover cop in Tijuana about buying weapons and when he tried to cross the guards were already tipped off.

SanYsidroTijuanabordercrossing_zps7bb89f
SanYsidrobordercrossing_zpsf86494c0.jpg
SanYsidroMexicoordercrossing_zpsa1b22bf8
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No one can drive 80 mph to get through this crossing. I bet he talked to an undercover cop in Tijuana about buying weapons and when he tried to cross the guards were already tipped off.

SanYsidroTijuanabordercrossing_zps7bb89f
SanYsidrobordercrossing_zpsf86494c0.jpg
SanYsidroMexicoordercrossing_zpsa1b22bf8

These are old photos of the now torn down TJ crossing. The new one is 1/4 mile away from the old one and is a 90 degree turn down along the border fence. Then another 90 into the much improved and larger crossing called El Chapparal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwpQzctf3Fo

Click "Abra este contenido en una nueva ventana" to view video.

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