Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

General’s disregard for the warrior

Mexican military officer says Marine vet no exception to gun laws

Gabriel García Rincón and Andrew Tahmooressi
Gabriel García Rincón and Andrew Tahmooressi

A former U.S. Marine jailed in Tijuana for bringing weapons into Mexico is getting little sympathy from a top-ranking Baja California military official despite an outpouring of support north of the border.

Twenty-five-year-old Andrew Tahmooressi, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, was jailed at the international border on April 1 after driving into Mexico with three weapons inside his pickup truck. Tahmooressi says he entered Mexico by mistake after accidentally missing the last exit off Interstate 5 into the U.S.

Since then, two San Diego congressmen from both sides of the aisle (Duncan Hunter and Scott Peters) have written to top officials in the Obama administration asking them to intervene on the Marine veteran’s behalf.

Sponsored
Sponsored

There have also been scattered rallies in support of Tahmooressi across the country, including a small May 5 protest outside the Mexican Consulate in San Diego.

A petition to the White House is circulating on the internet on the vet’s behalf; supporters hope to gather 100,000 signatures, the threshold for requiring an official response from the president.

But Gen. Gabriel García Rincón, commander of Mexico’s Second Military Zone, which includes Tijuana, has turned a deaf ear to the chorus of support.

In a May 2 interview published in the Tijuana daily El Mexicano, García said Tahmooressi’s status as a veteran is irrelevant to the charges he faces. Entering Mexico with firearms is a crime, he said, and Tahmooressi is subject to Mexican law.

“He entered [Mexico] as an American citizen and must be subject to the laws of our country, without regard to any occupation he may have had,” said García. “Everyone must be subject to our laws without regard to who they are or where they’re from.”

“He probably didn’t mean to, but in the final analysis he broke the law and he must pay the consequences,” said García. “I don’t know the circumstances he has given, but he did bring the weapons [into Mexico].”

Tahmooressi is being held without bail at Tijuana’s La Mesa prison and is scheduled for a May 28 hearing. If convicted, he faces a sentence of up to 21 years.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Ramona musicians seek solution for outdoor playing at wineries

Ambient artists aren’t trying to put AC/DC in anyone’s backyard
Next Article

Pie pleasure at Queenstown Public House

A taste of New Zealand brings back happy memories
Gabriel García Rincón and Andrew Tahmooressi
Gabriel García Rincón and Andrew Tahmooressi

A former U.S. Marine jailed in Tijuana for bringing weapons into Mexico is getting little sympathy from a top-ranking Baja California military official despite an outpouring of support north of the border.

Twenty-five-year-old Andrew Tahmooressi, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, was jailed at the international border on April 1 after driving into Mexico with three weapons inside his pickup truck. Tahmooressi says he entered Mexico by mistake after accidentally missing the last exit off Interstate 5 into the U.S.

Since then, two San Diego congressmen from both sides of the aisle (Duncan Hunter and Scott Peters) have written to top officials in the Obama administration asking them to intervene on the Marine veteran’s behalf.

Sponsored
Sponsored

There have also been scattered rallies in support of Tahmooressi across the country, including a small May 5 protest outside the Mexican Consulate in San Diego.

A petition to the White House is circulating on the internet on the vet’s behalf; supporters hope to gather 100,000 signatures, the threshold for requiring an official response from the president.

But Gen. Gabriel García Rincón, commander of Mexico’s Second Military Zone, which includes Tijuana, has turned a deaf ear to the chorus of support.

In a May 2 interview published in the Tijuana daily El Mexicano, García said Tahmooressi’s status as a veteran is irrelevant to the charges he faces. Entering Mexico with firearms is a crime, he said, and Tahmooressi is subject to Mexican law.

“He entered [Mexico] as an American citizen and must be subject to the laws of our country, without regard to any occupation he may have had,” said García. “Everyone must be subject to our laws without regard to who they are or where they’re from.”

“He probably didn’t mean to, but in the final analysis he broke the law and he must pay the consequences,” said García. “I don’t know the circumstances he has given, but he did bring the weapons [into Mexico].”

Tahmooressi is being held without bail at Tijuana’s La Mesa prison and is scheduled for a May 28 hearing. If convicted, he faces a sentence of up to 21 years.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Ramona musicians seek solution for outdoor playing at wineries

Ambient artists aren’t trying to put AC/DC in anyone’s backyard
Next Article

Poway’s schools, faced with money squeeze, fined for voter mailing

$105 million bond required payback of nearly 10 times that amount
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader