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Mexican court orders release of U.S. Marine Sgt. Tahmooressi

Mexican judge orders immediate release of U.S. Marine accused of illegally taking weapons across the border.

By Danielle Haynes

TECATE, Mexico, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- A Mexican court on Friday ordered the release of U.S. Marine reservist Sgt. Andrew Paul Tahmooressi after 7 months imprisonment on federal weapons charges.

The 25-year-old was arrested March 31 at a Tijuana, Mexico, checkpoint after he said he mistakenly took three guns across the border into Mexico.

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Tahmooressi maintained his innocence, saying he had no intention of crossing the border and was originally told he could turn around to return to the United States before he was arrested.

He was on trial for the federal weapons charges, though the attorney general's office agreed to halt its prosecution.

A Mexican federal judge ordered Tahmooressi to be immediately released.

Last month, the Marine's mother, Jill Tahmooressi, said her son was "highly despondent" and that his post-traumatic stress disorder wasn't adequately being treated in the El Hongo Penitentiary in Tecate, Mexico.

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