The tragic tale of local resident Troy Bachmann has not improved.

If anything, the story has become one of frighteningly gothic proportions as
he continues to languish in the notorious Venustiano Carranza Prison in Tepic,
Mexico, held on charges he and his family insist are bogus.

As late as Nov. 17, Troy’s father, Mark Bachmann, owner of the local Fly
Fishing Shop, told The Mountain Times that “Troy has been moved to better
quarters and food, and he may be out today. We are guardedly optimistic.”

That was the last piece of good news coming out of Mexico.

On Nov. 22, Mark’s optimism had turned to disdain.

“Things are not progressing fast enough with Troy,” he said. “Little tangible
progress has really been made. I’m going to have to go to war.”

Troy’s brother Derek Bachmann, of Seattle, has lost his job trying to battle
against the Mexican authorities.

On Nov. 23, he told The Mountain Times that “As far as I’ve been told, all the
evidence against Troy has been negated and the court is deciding today
whether or not to proceed with the growers’ charges against him.”

Then came the stunning news.

“Just found out that Troy has been recharged with the case even after this
judge says that there is no evidence in any of the testimony,” Derek wrote in
a Nov. 24 email. “But because there are five cases, he believes that there is
reason to proceed with them anyway.”

Mark responded, saying “Apparently he has been recharged with the crimes
he was acquitted of by a federal court.”

That acquittal came on Oct. 12, followed promptly by a local district attorney
filing an appeal.

Troy Bachmann has been held in the Tepic prison since May, on charges from
watermelon farmers at Troy’s Mexican business, Fancy Fresh Farms.

According to Derek Bachmann, his brother had hired a new bookkeeper for his
business and started noticing discrepancies in the accounting. An independent
audit confirmed his suspicions, but he didn’t have time to deal with it before
leaving on a business trip.

As previously reported in The Mountain Times (Nov. issue), in Troy’s absence
the bookkeeper and several other employees raided the company’s checking
accounts, wiped his computer hard drives and planted rumors with Troy’s
growers that he was planning on leaving the country without paying them.

Upon his return from the business trip Troy planned to meet immediately with
the growers to straighten out the misunderstanding but was immediately
surrounded by police, handcuffed, and arrested -- without a warrant or
reading of his rights.

Since then he’s been in the Venustiano Carranza Prison, a deplorable
institution referred to by Human Rights Watch as a prison of “unspeakable
conditions.”

His family has been brought to its financial knees since the arrest, as the
prison extracts money for food and a bed.

Local residents can help pay for Troy’s legal bills and prison expenses through
accounts that have been set up at PayPal, Fundly.com/friends-of-troy, and the
U.S. Bank: Friends of Troy Account No. 153567494536.

As of the last report, 72 donors had stepped forward raising $7,875 toward
Troy’s legal bills and incarceration fees.