Posted on 08/15/2006 11:05:20 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
MARIETTA, Ohio - Prosecutors dropped the terrorism charges against two men arrested after buying large numbers of cell phones, saying Tuesday that they couldn't prove a terrorism link.
The dismissal, in a one-page court document, came the day after Washington County Prosecutor James Schneider said he didn't have enough evidence to present the felony charges to a grand jury.
Ali Houssaiky and Osama Sabhi Abulhassan, both of Dearborn, Mich., left prison after paying a reduced bond on their remaining misdemeanor counts of falsification.
"We know it was just a matter of time. We were just hoping it wouldn't be forever," Abulhassan said. "Everybody knew we were innocent. We knew we were innocent."
The falsification counts stem from allegations that the men gave police false information about why they bought the phones.
Federal authorities told local law enforcement last winter to be on the lookout for people buying large numbers of prepaid cell phones.
In addition to the arrests in Ohio, three Texas men were charged in Michigan this month after nearly 1,000 cell phones were found in a van they were driving.
In the Michigan case, the FBI said Monday that it had no indication that the men had any ties to know terrorist groups. Local prosecutors, however, were standing by the charges. They have not said what they believe the men intended to do with the phones, though officials have said the phones can be used as detonators and the Coast Guard increased its patrols of the 5-mile-long Mackinac Bridge.
Supporters of the arrested men have said their only purpose was to make money by reselling the phones and that they were targeted because of their Arab backgrounds.
And who would pay more than retail for cell phones with the batteries and chargers removed?
clinton holdovers, perhaps... re: the prosecutors
The Michigan cell phone case is headed in the same direction:
Terror case coming apart
http://www.mlive.com/news/sanews/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1155648027145100.xml&coll=9
In the Ohio case they found airport and flight info in the car. In the Michigan case they found pictures of the Macinaw Bridge. Nothing to see here....?
It's not the prosecutors, it's the FBI. The local prosecutors want to charge them, but the big-shot feds come in and say "no evidence here" and get the guys released. From the article:
In the Michigan case, the FBI said Monday that it had no indication that the men had any ties to know terrorist groups. Local prosecutors, however, were standing by the charges.
Exactly. There are other ways they could charge them. Unfortunately tax evasion and operating without a license do not rise to the level of holding someone in prison without a bond :(
Good for the prosecutors! The FBI has its head up in a very DARK place. Hope they like it there.
We can just hope that enough of them will be watched and then caught again, only this time w/knowledge of who/what/when/where/why/how.
They are Muslims. They will overreach.
But they could indict a ham sandwich on a hate crime charge for being being "offensive to muslims".....
Have these clowns violated the terms of their visas?
Are they muslim?
Why have they not been deported?
What does this mean?
At which point the victims' families can make it their life's mission to deal with the imbeciles who allowed it to happen.
Sign me up to help.
Not sure, may be part of the purchase process , asking if it is for resale or such or personal use only as part of any contract for a carrier may be involved, just a guess.
Deport them.
Nobody, but if you then sell the batteries and chargers separately it's conceivable that you could end up with a profit. There's a good chance the feds are still keeping an eye on these guys, but their story isn't implausible on its face.
Yeah. This is crazy. Is our system so broken that we can do nothing until there is an attack? It would seem so.
Did it ever occur to them that they are new recruits without a trail? You don't have to be a genius to figure that out.
Basically, there's no evidence they did anything more than lie to the cops about why they bought the phones.
The judge looked at the evidence the prosecutor had and told him to take a hike.
Of course the local DA is sticking with his claims, he's elected and doesn't want to look stupid for making wild accusations with what looks like no evidence. This was he can look 'tough on terrorism'.
And a lot of people here jumped on the bandwagon with no evidence. Real independent thinkers, a lot of you.
When I see a government spokesman make wild claims about something, I wait and see how it plays out. How many times has the government lied to us, and yet people will just suck it up like mothers milk. You all believe Ronnie Earle's claims about Tom D.? Use the same skepticism here, or is it okay to railroad people with "funny" names?
I suspect the market in reselling prepaid cell phones just took a tumble, anyhow.
--R.
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