Avignone is very familiar with the San Ysidro crossing, and has gone over it numerous times over the past four decades. In his view, Tahmooressi could not possibly have missed the last American exit before reaching the border. I-5 is very well lit, and has numerous signs with equally numerous chances to turn around and head back north. Even if he’d missed those, there are several turnaround lanes just yards from the border. Additionally, the San Ysidro crossing is very large and brightly lit, unlike many crossing points along the border–no surprise, since according to Avignone it’s “the busiest land border crossing in the world.” But we know for sure that Tahmooresssi wasn’t driving on I-5. He recently admitted that earlier in the day, he parked his truck in a lot close to the border and walked to Tijuana. According to Avignone, with this admission Tahmooressi conceded that he was already “as far south as you can be” along that stretch of the border and still be on American soil.
In the last week, evidence has turned up that confirms Tahmooressi wasn’t as unfamiliar with the San Ysidro crossing as he claims. Numerous phone and ATM records show he crossed into Tijuana as many as six times in the weeks before his arrest. Tahmooressi has since admitted having a fling with a woman who works in Tijuana’s red-light district. And just before his arrest, he rented a room at a Tijuana hotel; he was nervous about spending the night in Tijuana and came back to San Diego.