Posted on 09/19/2002 11:52:38 AM PDT by meia
Earlier reports from authorities said that Kambiz Butt ran the tollbooth without paying.
Thursday, September 19, 2002
By BRIGID O'MALLEY, bmomalley@naplesnews.com
The Collier County Sheriff's Office has voided the ticket given to the driver of one of the cars stopped on Alligator Alley last week during a terrorism scare, saying the tollkeeper Wednesday recalled taking the $1.50 from the man.
"She was very nervous at the time," said Collier Sheriff Don Hunter.
He said the tollbooth attendant, who had earlier given a sworn statement that the driver hadn't paid, had spotted the tag on the front of the car which had been given as part of a description to all tollkeepers in the state as a car that needed to be stopped by authorities.
"She became flustered and didn't recall," Hunter said. He said it was a Car Max tag on the front of the car that caught her attention.
Earlier reports from authorities said that Kambiz Butt, 25, the driver of one of the two cars stopped on the Alley on Friday to be checked out for a possible terrorism-related incident, ran the tollbooth without paying.
Alligator Alley was shut down in both directions for 17 hours, and the men, who were headed to Larkin Hospital in South Miami to start work as medical students, were detained between 11:45 p.m. Thursday and 6 p.m. Friday while they were questioned by local, state and federal authorities.
Eunice Stone reported to police that they'd been in a Shoney's restaurant in Calhoun, Ga., on Thursday morning and were laughing about the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and saying that another, even worse, attack was set for Sept. 13, the day they were stopped at Mile Marker No. 92 on the interstate. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation issued the alert.
All three men, Ayman Gheith, 27, Omar Choudhary, 23, and Butt, who are of Middle Eastern descent, have denied talking about Sept. 11 or any attacks on Miami. They've appeared on news shows around the nation since the stop.
But a Collier deputy, Darrel Kehne, on special patrol, looking for the cars and their occupants, spotted the two cars and stopped them. A Collier sheriff's bomb detection dog alerted on the rear of both cars and that brought dozens of officers to the Alley.
Authorities after the daylong investigation, which included a search by a bomb-detecting robot, helicopters bearing special equipment and a thorough scouring of the cars, determined the incident was a hoax. The searches turned up no signs of explosives or bomb-making material.
Deputies, after interviewing the tollkeeper after the stop, wrote a ticket — the fine is $100 plus $26 in court costs — to Butt.
But the videotape at the tollbooth on Interstate 75 also shows a transaction between Butt and the tollbooth attendant, Hunter said. The ticket should be officially voided today, Hunter said.
Hunter said investigators showed the tollkeeper, who'd already given a sworn statement saying Butt's car had run the tollbooth, the video which logs the transaction Wednesday.
"He reached his hand out. She reached her hand out," Hunter said. "There appears to have been a transaction. Then she excitedly waves her hand toward the east. We believe she was trying to flag us down."
Butt contended that he paid the toll, Hunter said.
"It would not be fair not to check it out," he said.
He said the second car did stop and ask if Butt had paid the toll.
Hunter described the toll taker as "nervous" at the time.
"She said she wasn't scared," he said.
David Kubiliun, one of the attorneys representing the men, said they are pleased the ticket was voided.
"My understanding is that it was voided because videotape showed Mr. Butt did pay the toll," Kubiliun said. "He's very pleased. We're all gratified."
Hunter speculated the attorneys will try to take on other aspects of the stop.
"I'm sure their attorneys will say, 'If this was wrong, what else was wrong?' " Hunter said. "But I'm firm on the rest of it."
He said investigators are still running down other parts of the probe, which he didn't disclose.
"We haven't reached any dead ends," Hunter said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
I meant to write: "Looks like the students were lucky they don't have to deal with "the law" in Pakistan."
Here in the US you say something offensive and you might become an object of temporary interest.
In Pakistan you get sentenced to death if you say something offensive.
Don't tell me you haven't seen the numerous posters on Free Republic who have said that because they are of Middle Eastern heritage that they cannot be trusted. I can go back and provide a number of examples of this if you wish.
In fact I'm surprised that this is allowed here. If Arabic or Muslim were substituted with Jewish, Black, White, Asian, Christian etc, and the same thing said or implied, the posts would be eliminated quickly.
Good to see you in there AGAIN plugging away for the poor muslim men.
Do these innocent muslim boys and you have things in common?
I'm not sure what you mean by that. But I do have something in common with President Bush. I agree with him in his beliefs about the Muslim religion. As he stated again this week, Islam is a religion of peace and love, which has been hijacked by people who grossly misrepresent what it means.
Do you belive that President Bush is a Muslim stooge too?
Well aren't you a cool cucumber? Would they send a chill down your spine or would you consider them just in possesion of a slightly off-beat sense of humor?
I mostly agree that Eunice should not be faulted.
However, I do recall that in the original story Eunice indicated that her son told her something to the effect of "Ma, they are just playing with you."
I think that is probably what happened.
The three should have owned up to their prank instead of becoming self-righteous.
Unfortunately, their little prank and Eunice’s clueless ness has cost the taxpayers a lot of money and the nation a bit of stress.
"Radical Islam is an insane murder cult, and 'moderate' Islam is its Trojan Horse in the West?"
I'd just add that a Trojan Horse can be witting, or unwitting, as it helps to hide and move the insane murder cultists.
Here's one more, not mentioning any specific religion mind you:
"What kind of sick twisted 'religion' promises an eternity of fornicating with young virgins as a reward for the mass murder of nonbelieving women and children?"
If and when white Christians start flying jets into skyscrapers I'll accept the "oppression" without a whimper.
I'll also be out in the streets screaming my lungs out in protest. You know, just like the massive Muslim outrage that we are all so familiar with by now.
Right on!
Nooobody does it better!
UN Method for dealing with a rattlesnake in your backyard:
1. Get the toddlers inside.
2. Find the rattlesnake
3. Wearing thick, long gloves, grab it just behind the head.
4. Using special gizmo you've brought along for the purpose, milk the venom out of its fangs into a glass jar.
5. Turn the snake loose.
6. Let the toddlers back into the yard.
7. Repeat weekly for as long as the snake lives.
US Method for dealing with a rattlesnake in your backyard:
1. Find the rattlesnake.
2. Chop its head off.
I guess since you don't have a lot of skyscrapers in Iowa maybe you can stay comatose on this this threat a while longer, Dr.
So you're saying that President Bush is a liar? Why would he need to say anything positive at all? If he really didn't feel that it was a religion of peace and love, he could just not say anything at all.
What exactly are you going to charge them with?
What "actions" can they legally be prosecuted for??
Being idiots is not a crime. Making asses of themselves at Shoneys is not a crime.
I gave you my reasoning and I think it's sound.
To paraphrase Custer, where the hell did all these Muslims come from?
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