Medina Torres says he remains hopeful that he'll be found not guilty of a crime he says he never meant to commit.

From behind prison bars, Medina Torres tells us his remarkable story, of how he ended up on the other side of the border.

Sunday, April 20th, 2008: Iraq war vet, Richard Medina Torres sets out on a 1,600 mile drive from Fort Hood, Texas, back home to Fresno, to visit his mom before being deployed to Honduras at the beginning of May.

Gloria Medina, the soldier’s mother: "He's a specialist, he works on helicopters, he repairs helicopters.”

Before leaving, Medina Torres packed his car with personal belongings, including a personal collection of weapons he purchased a couple years back.

That collection included three knives, a .45 caliber handgun, an AR-15 military assault rifle, 13 magazine clips and ammunition.

Preston Phillips: What are they used for?
Medina Torres: Just going to the range. I guess for fun as you would say.

At around 7 o'clock that next morning, after 9 hours of being on the road, Medina Torres says he got hungry.

That's when he says he stopped in El Paso, Texas and asked for directions to the Mexican border.

Medina Torres: "I was just planning on parking on the American side and walking across into Mexico to get something to eat, walk back to my car and drive home."

But that never happened.

Instead, Medina Torres says he was given bad directions that forced him to drive into Mexico.

Medina Torres: “I was following the directions I was told. I came across the bridge. I was looking for people waving red flags. I didn't see them when I looked across the bridge. I looked up and saw a big sign that said welcome to Mexico."

All the while, passing several large signs that warn: guns and ammunition illegal in Mexico. penalty-prison.

Preston Phillips: didn't you see the signs that said no guns?
Medina Torres: I didn't even notice those.

Medina Torres says he suspected he was headed in the wrong direction, but by the time he stopped to ask for help, he was already in Mexican territory.

Medina Torres: "I stopped at the gate, asked the customs guy there where to go. He told me to go forward and make a u-turn. Before I could even do that, I got pulled over by the police."

During a routine stop, Mexican authorities confiscated the weapons in his vehicle and took him into custody on suspicion of smuggling firearms into Juarez. A city plagued with violence.

Roberto Delgado: Juarez correspondent: "There have been a lot of execution style murders. But like today people are shooting in the streets and some innocent people have been hurt."

Since the beginning of 2008, there have been more the 250 murders in Juarez, as drug cartels battle for territory. The AR-15 medina Torres had in his car, a weapon they'll do anything to get their hands on.

Jose Reyes Ferriz, Mayor, Ciudad Juarez: "When we see somebody smuggling a high powered rifle into the country, we think and we have a certain amount of certainty that it's a person trying to smuggle arms for drug dealers in Mexico."

And two days after his arrest, Medina Torres found himself facing that exact charge, along with another: possessing a weapon and ammunition reserved only for military use.

That same day Medina Torres was transferred to Cereso Prison, about 30 minutes south of the United States border.

To keep him from being killed, the prison's director, Salvador Barreno Chavez says he was immediately placed in an area away from the general population inmates.

That's where he remains tonight.

Salvador Barreno Chavez, Cereso Prison director: "We discovered that he has a tattoo that represents one of the gangs here. It happens to be one of the most dangerous gangs. That's why we couldn't put him in general population. So we have him in a safe area."

The tattoo: an Aztec sun god, similar to this image.

It’s a symbol worn by Barrios Aztecas, a violent gang inside Cereso.

Medina Torres: "The intentions I got were from my heritage, so to me, they're not gang related."

After a week in prison, a Mexican judge ruled there wasn't enough evidence to convict Medina Torres of smuggling firearms and that charge was dropped.

That's when Medina Torres' attorney stepped in and appealed the remaining charge.

Delgado: "He appealed and the case goes to Mexico City to a supreme court where a judge is going to decide if the decision of the judge here in Juarez was good or if it was wrong."

Meantime, U.S. Consulate officials have been visiting Medina Torres at the prison and working to expedite the appeal.

Medina Torres: "they're telling me they're just trying to work the case, just hoping for the best."

U.S. Government officials say over the last two years, 12 Americans have been arrested for bringing guns into Mexico, but released within just a few days. They say they say they believe Medina Torres' case is different because of the type of weapon he had with him.

Despite efforts by the U.S. Consulate, Medina Torres says he still hadn't heard from the army.

That is, until three weeks after his arrest.

When our cameras catch this man: only identified as a U.S. Army Colonel, leaving the prison with two U.S. Consulate officials.

It was the first time Medina Torres had been contacted by the army since his ordeal began.

Preston Phillips: What did he tell you?
Medina Torres: Just wanted to see how I was doing. Lay eyes on me cause he'd heard so much about me from the chain of command back in fort hood.

After the visit, U.S. Government officials told KSEE 24 News that the Army had actually been monitoring his case since the beginning, but because Medina Torres was on leave when the incident took place, it was considered a civil, rather than a military matter, which is why the U.S. Consulate had been involved from the start.

Meanwhile, back in the U.S., Medina Torres is gaining support from people all over the country.

Just last week, a website was launched: releaserichard.com, urging people to support this U.S. soldier.

George Alesna, www.releaserichard.com: "He's one of us, he's one of ours and by us doing that, we're walking the walk instead of talking the talk, when we say support our troops."

But despite mounting support for the soldier in the U.S., Medina Torres' fate ultimately lies in the hands of the Mexican magistrate, whose decision will determine, if he'll return to the country he claims he never intentionally left.

Gloria medina: "The hardest thing is just seeing my son going through this and having to live this nightmare, because that's what I call it. It’s a nightmare.”

But tonight, Gloria Medina says things are looking positive for her son.

However, if Medina Torres is found guilty, the judge would have up to a year to sentence him to prison, during which, he would remain in protective custody at Cereso, where he sits tonight.

Count on KSEE 24 news for continuing, exclusive coverage of this Fresno soldier's fight for freedom.

Click on the link to watch Preston Phillips’ report.