A bit more info Snow...notice what the technicians say: Students Charged with having Pipe Bombs, Investigation Underway
Editor: J. Preston (Pete) Strom Jr.
Firm: Strom Law Firm, LLC
August 07, 2007
By Pete Strom
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2 University of South Florida Students were arrested Saturday near a Navy base outside of Charleston, SC for possession of an explosive device. Criminal charges were entered against Ahmed Abda Sherf Mohamed and Yousef Samir Megahed Monday for carrying explosive devices, a felony charge that carries up to 15 years.
State and federal investigators are looking into the situation, but have found no link to terrorism. The two men were pulled over by authorities while driving through Goose Creek, SC. Berkeley County Sherriff Wayne DeWitt says the men admitted to having fireworks in their car.
After being pulled over
officers became suspicious because the men quickly put away a laptop computer and couldn't immediately say what they were doing in the area or where they were going, Dewitt said. A deputy then found what he thought were explosives in the 2000 Toyota Camry and called the bomb squad. Technicians confirmed the devices were pipe bombs and destroyed them.
At a bond hearing Monday, the men's defense attorney claims the pair is "confused and scared." Their lawyer also claims the men had a reason for having the devices and that the reason would become clear in later hearings.
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FBI Seizes Tape, PC In USF Case
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By VALERIE KALFRIN The Tampa Tribune
Published: Aug 9, 2007
tbo.com
TAMPA - FBI agents are reviewing surveillance video from a Wal-Mart store in connection with the arrest in South Carolina of two University of South Florida students, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman said.
Agents also have seized a computer from the family home of one of the students, said a local advocate in contact with the family.
Youssef Megahed, 21, and Ahmed Mohamed, 24, both of whom are enrolled at the university, were charged Monday under South Carolina statutes with possession of an incendiary or explosive device. Both were being held in a Berkeley County jail Wednesday. Mohamed's bail was set at $500,000 and Megahed's at $300,000.
Prosecutors in South Carolina said the men were carrying a pipe bomb and pipe-bomb paraphernalia when they were pulled over for speeding there Saturday about seven miles from the Goose Creek Naval Weapons Station.
Mohamed said in court they were carrying fireworks. Megahed's family told the Tampa office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations that Megahed is restoring a car and had tools and oil canisters in the trunk.
Forensic tests from the FBI are pending to determine what the trunk's contents were. The Berkeley County Sheriff's Office detonated what it thought was suspicious.
Sharon Weber, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman, confirmed today that the FBI has picked up surveillance footage from "one of our stores" but declined to elaborate, citing the open investigation.
Ahmed Bedier, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said FBI agents seized a computer from the Tampa home of Megahed's family. The family includes Megahed's parents, brother and sister, who through Bedier declined an interview. The family wants to speak to Megahed before talking to reporters, Bedier said.
The FBI declined to comment.
Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800. |
