Today was a big day for U.S. Army Specialist Richard Medina Torres...

He'd been waiting all week to see if the Mexican judge that charged him, would either sentence him to prison or set him free.

Early this morning, the judge did make a decision, however, it was a decision that now is causing a lot of confusion.

His ordeal began Monday… That's when Army Specialist Richard Medina Torres was headed back home to Fresno from his command post in Fort Hood, Texas to visit his mom, before shipping out for his next mission in Honduras.

But as he was driving through Texas, Medina Torres decided to stop off in El Paso and walk into Juarez, Mexico for a bite to eat…

But he never found the parking lot he was looking for.

Instead he says, one wrong turn led him to the Mexican border with no way to turn around.

"I talked to the guy at the gate and he said go through, get in the line and turn around. 15 feet later they were pulling me over, asking for the guns and the drugs. I told them I don't have any drugs and I told them I have firearms right there, opened them up cooperated with them, and I was arrested and thrown in here," said Medina Torres.

Medina Torres calls it one big mistake, adding he never knew it was illegal to bring firearms into Mexico.

Inside his car… federal authorities confiscated an AR-15 assault rifle, 13 fully loaded magazine clips, a handgun and two knives.

Tuesday, he was charged with possessing a firearm and possessing a firearm intended for military use…

Landing him in Juarez, Mexico’s notorious Cereso Prison.

"Any other person coming from Iraq is considered a hero, but my son is now a criminal and to me that isn't correct,” said Medina Torres’ mother, Gloria.

After the charges were filed Tuesday… a Mexican judge was given till noon today to either sentence Medina Torres or set him free.

But something different happened this morning.

The judge dropped one of the charges against him, and decided to keep Medina Torres in custody until he comes back next Monday.

Now, two U.S. attorneys have begun working with the soldier, beginning the appeal process early… working to figure out why he is still being charged.

Early this morning, the soldier's mother arrived in El Paso, in hopes of seeing her son.

"It’s probably gonna get a little tense for me because I did speak to him and he said mom I didn't want you to come and I said why? He said I know it’s gonna be hard knowing I can't go back with you," said Medina.

Medina only spoke to her son by phone this morning. When she arrived in El Paso, prison officials at Cereso told her she could not see her son today.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms says the guns are legally registered to Medina Torres here in the U.S.

According to him, they’re part of his personal collection.

We know now that the greater charge against him: possessing a firearm for military use has been dropped.

That charge would have carried a hefty sentence.

It's also unclear if the judge will return this Monday or next...

However, the soldier's mother says it is possible her son could be released before the judge returns, with the help of Medina Torres' lawyers.

Stay tuned to KSEE 24 News for the very latest exclusive coverage on this story.

Click on the link to see Preston Phillips’ report.