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Suspended USF student may take deal

Youssef Megahed's lawyer says a plea wouldn't involve any of the current charges.

By Justin George, Times Staff Writer
Published February 16, 2008

ADVERTISEMENT Youssef Megahed, arrested near a naval base, is charged with transporting explosives.

TAMPA - A suspended University of South Florida student facing explosives charges is discussing a plea agreement with federal prosecutors.

The prospect of a plea bargain for Youssef Megahed, 21, surfaced during a conference Friday in U.S. District Judge Mark A. Pizzo's courtroom, but Megahed's attorney, Adam Allen, said no deal has been formally offered.

Megahed would plead to a lesser crime if he accepts any agreement, said Allen, a federal public defender.

"If there ever is a deal it won't involve anything he's charged with presently," he said.

The U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment.

The talks prompted an attorney for co-defendant Ahmed Mohamed to ask for more time to prepare for ahearing on whether evidence should be suppressed, according to courtroom minutes.

Mohamed, 26, and Megahed were arrested Aug. 4 near a South Carolina naval base, where investigators found four PVC pipes filled with sugar, potassium nitrate and kitty litter. A federal indictment charges both with illegally transporting explosive materials. Mohamed faces an additional charge of demonstrating how to make an explosive device.

One of Mohamed's attorneys, Linda Moreno of Tampa, asked Pizzo to delay a suppression hearing scheduled Tuesday in the event Megahed reaches an agreement. Her request was denied Friday, court records show.

Attorneys for both defendants want evidence and statements collected at the traffic stop thrown out. They said comments made by a deputy that were captured on camera show racial bias. They also say Megahed was questioned before being read his Miranda rights, according to court records.

Mohamed's other attorney, Lyann Goudie of Tampa, was attending to another case Friday during the conference. But she said a plea agreement would make her and Moreno the lone and lead attorneys in Tuesday's suppression hearing, leaving them ill prepared.

Both signed on to represent Mohamed about a week and a half ago. Megahed's attorney, in comparison, has had months on the case.

Allen said late Friday he planned to be at Tuesday's hearing. "Things could always change," he said.

Goudie had hoped to fly late Friday to the site of the South Carolina traffic stop to better prepare a defense. But she canceled the trip given the plea possibility.

Justin George can be reached at jgeorge@sptimes.com or 813 226-3368.

[Last modified February 15, 2008, 23:13:02]