FBI detains two Israelis arrested in Unicoi
Sunday, May 09, 2004
By RON SCALF
NET News Service ERWIN - The FBI detained two Israelis who led the Unicoi County sheriff on a high-speed chase in a rented Ryder Rental Truck late Saturday afternoon.
Being held without bond in the Unicoi County Jail on charges stemming from the chase are Shnuel Daran, 22, and another man only identified as Naor. Both men are from Israel.
Sheriff Kent Harris said Naor produced a fake identification card and the duo were uncooperative with officers.
"The other man, (Daran) produced an expired passport," Harris said.
The rental truck was being held at the county garage, pending an FBI investigation.
A "Learn to Fly" brochure was found in the truck, Harris said, leading officers to express concerns about security at the Nuclear Fuel Services plant in Erwin.
"I got a sick feeling when I saw it," Harris said. "What were they doing throwing things out of the truck?" he questioned.
Harris said he was on the former U.S. Highway 23 heading for his office after participating as a judge at the annual Ramp Festival in Flag Pond. Harris said he and Special Deputy Ed Sparks noticed the truck racing down the mountain.
"I was really concerned because the driver would not stop after I flashed my headlights for nearly three miles," he said. "He was weaving back and forth and, I was wondering what a large Ryder Rental Truck was doing on the two-lane highway late Saturday afternoon instead of the faster I-26 Interstate."
Harris said he also noticed the men throw something from the vehicle while they were being pursued.
A vial, containing an unknown substance not believed to be an illegal drug, was found by a bevy of officers who walked the area along the lightly traveled old highway near the North Carolina line at Ernestville.
Along with the FBI, Harris contacted the federal Bureau of Tobacco and Firearms, the Erwin Police Department as well as his own investigators to look into the situation.
The sheriff said the truck was rented in Mars Hills, N.C. He also said Daran produced a fake Florida driver's license issued in Plantation, Fla. He said his office would follow-up with Florida law enforcement officials and Interpol, the international tracking system for wanted criminals.
"We're not overreacting," Harris said. "We have a responsibility to protect the citizens of Unicoi County and that's what I'm going to do at any cost. I'd rather overreact, if that's what you call it, than be sorry later."
Harris said he was lucky that a regional FBI agent happened to be visiting in Unicoi County and met him within 15 minutes of his call.
"We all need to be serious about homeland security," Harris said.
"We're living in a different time ... a time in which we all need to be vigilant."