Honest mistake: Arizona man still in Mexican prison awaiting trial for accidently bringing guns across border

PHOENIX - A father in Gilbert is trying to remain hopeful after his 36-year-old son faces years in a Mexican prison.

In May of last year, Andrew Harrison was detained at the border after guns were found in his car. He says it was a mistake.

It's now been 17 months since Andrew last saw his family. He has a fiance and three kids.

The only person he's been able to see during visiting hours is his dad, Tony.

The Harrison family is hoping for a Christmas miracle – that 36-year-old Andrew Harrison will be released from a Mexican prison soon.

In May 2022, Andrew, his fiance and three kids were driving to Mexico for vacation.

"And then I get the call from the in-laws saying Drew and his fiancé had gotten stopped. They found weapons in the car and that's when the nightmare started," Tony said.

It was an honest mistake, Tony said, and his son forgot he had weapons in a locked compartment, a place he kept his guns because they were not allowed in the house.

"When he got to the border he admitted, ‘I got these. I totally forgot about them,’" his father said.

He's been waiting for a trial ever since.

"It's either the trial first or they're going to make him stay until May. Two years. If he's not having a trial by then, he automatically gets to go home," Tony explained.

In the 17 months, he's missed his three kids growing up. Dec. 18 is his youngest son's second birthday.

"He just turned two, so Drew missed his first birthday, now his second birthday … hopefully he doesn't miss the third one," Tony said.

The Harrison family isn't the only family that has been going through this. Ira Beavers III had a similar situation.

He was driving to Rocky Point from Surprise with his wife when he forgot about the gun in his car.

"As I took a step back, I saw under the passenger seat and realized I had my gun in the vehicle," he said.

Unlike Andrew's case, Beavers was released 7 months later.

"Because I was a first-time offender and my sentence was less than 4 years, I qualified to be able to pay a bond and do my time on probation," he said.

It's unclear how long Andrew will be in prison.

For now, his family has a GoFundMe set up and it can be found here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/a-costly-honest-mistake