U.S. Marine veteran Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi fired his attorney prior to his first hearing before a judge in a Tijuana courthouse Wednesday, according to U-T San Diego.
That attorney, Alejandro Osuna, told reporters after the hearing he believes his former client is innocent of the charges against him:
“We had some disagreements about how information was presented...
“He shouldn't be here.”
"He now has a new lawyer who we have more confidence in."
Tahmooressi has been locked up in Mexico since April 1, when he says he missed the last U.S. exit before crossing into Mexico with three registered guns in his truck. Mexican authorities promptly arrested him on illegal weapons charges.
Tahmooressi explained what happened in a jailhouse interview:
“I said, ‘I have three guns’ and I showed them where the guns were and they checked out the guns and I said, ‘I didn’t even mean to be in Mexico. It was a mistake for me to be here. Can I just go back to the border?’ Five minutes later I was surrounded by like 20 military officials and police officers with guns watching me.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, Tahmooressi traveled from Florida to California to get help from the VA:
Tahmooressi was in San Diego in hopes of receiving care at the Veterans Affairs hospital in La Jolla for post-traumatic stress disorder. He served two tours in Afghanistan and was meritoriously promoted to sergeant.
Tahmooressi's next court appearance is slated for June 4.
San Diego television station KGTV explains why Tahmooressi was unhappy with his lawyer's representation:
