Thread: Speeder’s time in jail shows local terror fight

Published: May 31, 2009 3:00 a.m.
Speeder’s time in jail shows local terror fight
Jeff WieheThe Journal Gazette
Makamreh

Driving a friend’s Mercedes-Benz, a 28-year-old man left Decatur early one morning two months ago and headed north on Interstate 69 en route to his home in the Chicago suburbs.

But that March 21 trip came to a halt about 2:45 a.m. near the DeKalb County line, when an officer with the Allen County Sheriff’s Department clocked the man going more than 100 mph.

An ensuing search of the man’s car – which turned up hidden compartments – and a computer search of his criminal history raised red flags.

Police charged the man with reckless driving, but the case surrounding Kefah Makamreh – once convicted in a wire fraud scheme where more than $1 million of stolen money was funneled to the Mideast and elsewhere – was far from a simple traffic arrest.

Instead, the case offered a brief glimpse into how local and federal law enforcement agencies operate in a region not considered the front lines of terrorism, where the federal government can conduct threat assessments on individuals who come in contact with police.

FBI officials based in Indiana say threat assessments for local law agencies have become common since 9/11. Part of that increase is attributed to the growing number of local officers trained to spot national security threats.

The Makamreh case also shows the steps prosecutors can take to detain suspects considered potential threats while such a review is conducted.

For Makamreh, who ended up spending more than a month in jail for a relatively minor offense, the case illustrated something else entirely.

“This was racial discrimination since Day One,â€

The Makamreh case also shows the steps prosecutors can take to detain suspects considered potential threats while such a review is conducted.

What have we been paying the police and all law enforcement agencies for? Working together Only started after 2001, give me a break

Felony grand theft should equate to automatic deportation, who cares if it wasn't found to be connected with terrorism. Felony is felony.