Authorities return USF pair to Tampa

They will face federal charges in Tampa instead of state charges in South Carolina.

By ABBIE VANSICKLE, Times Staff Writer
Published September 7, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT Youssef Megahed is being held on federal charges of transporting explosives in interstate commerce without permits, with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Ahmed Mohamed has an additional charge of distributing information relating to explosives, destructive devices and weapons of mass destruction, a terrorism-related statute that carries a maximum of 20 years.

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Two University of South Florida engineering students spent only a few minutes in front of a judge Thursday during their first hearing on federal explosives charges.

Ahmed Mohamed and Youssef Megahed did not deny that they were indeed the men indicted last week, accused of transporting explosives. Their decision, called "waiving identity," cleared the way for federal officials, who took them back to Tampa for further court proceedings.

By 9:30 p.m. both men had been booked into Hillsborough County's Orient Road Jail.

"They'll be happy to get back," said Lionel Lofton, an attorney for Mohamed after the hearing in Charleston.

It took U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Carr less than five minutes to accept the men's acknowledgement and for the government to request that the men be held without bail on the federal charges, an issue to be reconsidered at a later hearing.

Both men met with their attorneys after the quick hearing, and both Mohamed and Megahed appeared to be in good spirits, Lofton said. Their attorneys are now asking for more specifics on the evidence against the pair.

"My suspicion is there's nothing," said Andrew Savage, lawyer for Megahed. "This is not a secret society we live in. I'm a little bit disturbed the government hasn't been more forthcoming."

The men have been in state custody since their Aug. 4 arrest. A deputy pulled them over for speeding on a highway outside suburban Goose Creek, S.C.

The deputy believed the men were acting suspiciously, and he searched the car and found a box of bullets near a seat in the car and pipe bombs in the trunk along with other "suspicious items," according to the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office.

Thursday's hearing had a sudden, hushed feel to it.

Mohamed, who is either 24 or 26, appeared in court in the clothes he had been wearing at the time of his arrest: swim trunks, a dirty T-shirt and socks, his attorney said. Megahed wore a T-shirt and warm-up-style pants with mismatched shoes, none of which belonged to him, said his attorney.

The men are being held on federal charges of transporting explosives in interstate commerce without permits, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Mohamed has an additional charge of distributing information relating to explosives, destructive devices and weapons of mass destruction, a terrorism-related statute that carries a maximum of 20 years.

The two initially faced state charges in South Carolina, but those were dropped at 9:33 a.m. Thursday morning to enable the federal case to continue, court records show.

The defense attorneys were not aware of the hearing until the defendants had already left the Berkeley County jail, the facility in rural Moncks Corner where the two have been housed since their arrest.

An employee of one of the law offices had planned to visit them that morning and called ahead, only to learn the men were no longer there.

Megahed's lawyer had scheduled an 11 a.m. meeting with the U.S. Attorney's Office. It was scrapped as he headed for the hearing at the federal courthouse, a historic building in downtown Charleston.

Security officers at the courthouse told a reporter that no hearing was going on, that the only public access was for the clerk's office.

In fact, the men were in court at that moment.

Afterward, the attorneys met with their clients, both of whom were pleased to be returning to Tampa, where they have community ties and friends, Savage told reporters.

Information about their travel plans had been kept even from defense attorneys for security reasons, Savage said.

It's unclear whether the men will have the same attorneys for the remainder of the case.

Lofton has been retained for Mohamed by the Egyptian Embassy, and Savage was hired privately by Megahed's family. But Savage said it may be in the men's best interest to have Tampa lawyers handle the matter, since local attorneys are much more familiar with the major players in Tampa's federal legal community.

Both lawyers plan to go to Tampa, at least initially, if only to transfer the case to others.

"See you in Tampa," Lofton said to a reporter as he left to meet with his client.

Families of both men have maintained their innocence, saying the men are dedicated students, not criminals.

Reached by phone in Cairo on Thursday afternoon, Mohamed's father, Abellatif Mohamed, said the family is relieved Mohamed is being returned to Tampa.

"I am sure that my son is innocent, and this is the only thing I can tell you," he said.

Times staff writer Mike Brassfield contributed to this report. Abbie VanSickle can be reached at (813) 226-3373.

[Last modified September 7, 2007, 01:06:03]