P
Patriot Games
Guest
http://www.newsmax.com/us/terrorism_probe/2007/12/15/57234.html
Ex-Convicts Admit Planning Terror Attack
Saturday, December 15, 2007
SANTA ANA, Calif. -- Levar Haley Washington was finally free on parole after
years in prison for robbery -- but unbeknownst to authorities, the Muslim
convert was already plotting more serious crimes.
Washington was determined to help his religious mentor and fellow convict
Kevin James plan jihad-style attacks on military sites, synagogues and other
targets, prosecutors said. James, who was still in prison, instructed
Washington to recruit five men, obtain two pistols with silencers and make
sure one of the men was trained in bomb-making.
"Be careful (brother), there are agents everywhere looking for (Al-Qaida)
recruiters or any other threat to national security," James wrote to
Washington in 2005. "Your squad will be engaged on all levels."
Police uncovered the plot later that year when they connected it to a string
of gas station robberies in the Los Angeles area. On Friday, James and
Washington pleaded guilty to conspiring to levy war against the United
States and affirmed that the elements of the plot, as presented by
prosecutors, were true.
Washington also pleaded guilty to using a firearm to further that
conspiracy.
James, 31, faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced March 31.
Washington, 28, faces up to 20 years in prison on the conspiracy charge and
five years to life for a firearms offense when he is sentenced April 28.
"Homegrown terrorism remains a grave concern to the security of our country,
and this cell was closer to going operational at the time than anyone since
9/11," Los Angeles Deputy Police Chief Michael Downing told reporters at a
news conference after the two men entered their pleas.
Police uncovered the plot in July 2005 while investigating the gas station
robberies, which they say were committed to finance the attacks. Torrance
Police Chief John Neu told reporters at the news conference that authorities
linked about 10 holdups to the effort.
The plotters were within weeks of being able to carry out an attack, Neu
said, when they were discovered about two months before the Jewish holiday
Yom Kippur.
Washington and James said little during their separate hearings, answering
U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney's questions with monosyllabic
responses. Both men wore goatees and Washington's face was covered in
tattoos.
Washington's attorney, Ellen Barry, said outside court that her client
decided it was "in his best interests" to plead guilty. James' attorney,
Robert Carlin, declined to comment.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Staples said as a result of the plea agreement
James' maximum possible sentence was reduced from 25 years to 20. U.S
attorney spokesman Thom Mrozek said prosecutors would recommend an 18-year
sentence for James and 25 years for Washington.
Also indicted in the case were Gregory Vernon Patterson and Hammad Riaz
Samana. All but Samana, a Pakistani national, are American-born Muslim
converts.
Patterson and Samana are charged with conspiracy to levy war against the
U.S. government through terrorism, conspiracy to possess and discharge
firearms in a violent crime, conspiracy to kill members of the U.S.
government uniformed services and conspiracy to kill foreign officials.
Patterson is also charged with a robbery count and using a firearm in a
violent crime.
U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien said Samana has been declared mentally unfit to
stand trial and is undergoing psychiatric care at a federal prison facility.
Patterson is expected to plead guilty to a terrorism conspiracy charge on
Monday.
Prosecutors said the plot was orchestrated by Washington, Patterson and
Samana at the behest of James, a California State Prison, Sacramento, inmate
who founded the radical group Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh, or JIS.
Washington converted to Islam while imprisoned with James, then looked to
recruit other members of the group after he was paroled, authorities said.
Neu said Patterson and Samana were recruited in part because they had no
criminal records and could acquire weapons without suspicion.
James preached that JIS members should target for violent attack any enemies
of Islam or "infidels," including the U.S. government and any supporters of
Israel, according to court documents.
Prosecutors said James prepared a press release that the men planned to send
out after an attack.
"This incident is the first in a series of incidents to come in a plight to
defend and propagate traditional Islam in its purity," James allegedly
wrote. "We are not extremists, radicals, or terrorists. We are only servants
of Allah."
Ex-Convicts Admit Planning Terror Attack
Saturday, December 15, 2007
SANTA ANA, Calif. -- Levar Haley Washington was finally free on parole after
years in prison for robbery -- but unbeknownst to authorities, the Muslim
convert was already plotting more serious crimes.
Washington was determined to help his religious mentor and fellow convict
Kevin James plan jihad-style attacks on military sites, synagogues and other
targets, prosecutors said. James, who was still in prison, instructed
Washington to recruit five men, obtain two pistols with silencers and make
sure one of the men was trained in bomb-making.
"Be careful (brother), there are agents everywhere looking for (Al-Qaida)
recruiters or any other threat to national security," James wrote to
Washington in 2005. "Your squad will be engaged on all levels."
Police uncovered the plot later that year when they connected it to a string
of gas station robberies in the Los Angeles area. On Friday, James and
Washington pleaded guilty to conspiring to levy war against the United
States and affirmed that the elements of the plot, as presented by
prosecutors, were true.
Washington also pleaded guilty to using a firearm to further that
conspiracy.
James, 31, faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced March 31.
Washington, 28, faces up to 20 years in prison on the conspiracy charge and
five years to life for a firearms offense when he is sentenced April 28.
"Homegrown terrorism remains a grave concern to the security of our country,
and this cell was closer to going operational at the time than anyone since
9/11," Los Angeles Deputy Police Chief Michael Downing told reporters at a
news conference after the two men entered their pleas.
Police uncovered the plot in July 2005 while investigating the gas station
robberies, which they say were committed to finance the attacks. Torrance
Police Chief John Neu told reporters at the news conference that authorities
linked about 10 holdups to the effort.
The plotters were within weeks of being able to carry out an attack, Neu
said, when they were discovered about two months before the Jewish holiday
Yom Kippur.
Washington and James said little during their separate hearings, answering
U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney's questions with monosyllabic
responses. Both men wore goatees and Washington's face was covered in
tattoos.
Washington's attorney, Ellen Barry, said outside court that her client
decided it was "in his best interests" to plead guilty. James' attorney,
Robert Carlin, declined to comment.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Staples said as a result of the plea agreement
James' maximum possible sentence was reduced from 25 years to 20. U.S
attorney spokesman Thom Mrozek said prosecutors would recommend an 18-year
sentence for James and 25 years for Washington.
Also indicted in the case were Gregory Vernon Patterson and Hammad Riaz
Samana. All but Samana, a Pakistani national, are American-born Muslim
converts.
Patterson and Samana are charged with conspiracy to levy war against the
U.S. government through terrorism, conspiracy to possess and discharge
firearms in a violent crime, conspiracy to kill members of the U.S.
government uniformed services and conspiracy to kill foreign officials.
Patterson is also charged with a robbery count and using a firearm in a
violent crime.
U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien said Samana has been declared mentally unfit to
stand trial and is undergoing psychiatric care at a federal prison facility.
Patterson is expected to plead guilty to a terrorism conspiracy charge on
Monday.
Prosecutors said the plot was orchestrated by Washington, Patterson and
Samana at the behest of James, a California State Prison, Sacramento, inmate
who founded the radical group Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh, or JIS.
Washington converted to Islam while imprisoned with James, then looked to
recruit other members of the group after he was paroled, authorities said.
Neu said Patterson and Samana were recruited in part because they had no
criminal records and could acquire weapons without suspicion.
James preached that JIS members should target for violent attack any enemies
of Islam or "infidels," including the U.S. government and any supporters of
Israel, according to court documents.
Prosecutors said James prepared a press release that the men planned to send
out after an attack.
"This incident is the first in a series of incidents to come in a plight to
defend and propagate traditional Islam in its purity," James allegedly
wrote. "We are not extremists, radicals, or terrorists. We are only servants
of Allah."
