Thread: FL-USF Grad Gets 6-Month Term After Posing With Rifle

USF Grad Gets 6-Month Term After Posing With Rifle


Local Muslim activist Ahmed Bedier speaks to the media along with Anissa Zekkari, Karim Moussaoui's mother, after Moussaoui was sentenced to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine for possessing a firearm in violation of his student visa.

By SHERRI ACKERMAN | The Tampa Tribune
and VALERIE KALFRIN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 14, 2008

Updated: 08:08 pm

TAMPA - A Moroccan native here on a student visa will serve three months in prison for shooting a rifle with friends at a local gun range.

Karim Moussaoui, 28, was convicted in April of a federal weapons charge for possessing a firearm, which violates his visa. Moussaoui said he was simply posing with the rifle for pictures.

U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore didn't buy it.

"He possessed it, he fired it, he shouldered it three times," the judge said Monday afternoon after reviewing a videotape obtained from the shooting range.

Whittemore sentenced Moussaoui to six months at Coleman Correctional Facility, about 70 miles northwest of Tampa. Moussaoui will get credit for three months already served in Pinellas and Citrus county jails.

The judge also fined Moussaoui $1,000.

Moussaoui will not fight any effort to deport him once he serves his sentence, said his attorney, DeeAnn Athan. She said after the hearing that she will appeal the sentence.

Her client's arrest and subsequent charges are based on the government's assumption that Moussaoui is implicated with others involved in terrorist acts, she said.

He is being prosecuted, Athan said, for the "innocent transitory possession of a firearm."

Moussaoui's parents insist their son never fired the rifle.

"My son never shoot that gun," Hamou Moussaou said. "He was just curious."

Moussaoui, a University of South Florida graduate, had gone to the Shoot Straight Tampa shooting range last summer with a friend, Youssef Megahed. Moussaoui admitted to holding a .22-caliber rifle Megahed had rented while posing for pictures.

Megahed is a legal, permanent resident of the United States, which allowed him to posses and rent the weapon. Moussaoui's status as a nonimmigrant alien made his handling of the gun illegal.

Moussaoui testified he had no idea his actions were illegal.

Investigators found snapshots of Moussaoui holding the firearm when they confiscated Megahed's computer during a traffic stop in South Carolina on Aug. 4.

Deputies had pulled over Megahed and another former USF student, Ahmed Mohamed, after becoming suspicious of their car and, according to authorities, found explosive materials in the trunk. Both were charged with transporting explosives.

In June, Mohamed pleaded guilty as part of an agreement to a charge he provided support to terrorists when he posted an Internet video showing how to detonate a bomb with a remote-controlled toy.

No date has been set for his sentencing. Megahed's trial is on hold while prosecutors appeal a judge's ruling regarding the use of certain evidence.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Monk, who argued that Moussaoui should serve more time, described instances in which he said Moussaoui lied during trial and to federal agents.

The attorney also shared an arrest report in 2001 that showed Moussaoui violated his visa on another occasion by working at a local gas station. Police arrested him on a misdemeanor charge of selling cigarettes to a minor.

Moussaoui's attorney, Athan, said her client was merely helping a friend who worked at the station and had gone to the back.

Monk also attempted to link Moussaoui to Mohamed's video, saying Moussaoui had seen the video and ultimately had alternative motives for being at the shooting range.

"I'm stunned," Athan said when the judge asked her to respond. "So we stand here at the final hour and Mr. Monk drops this bomb on us."

Whittemore agreed, saying Monk's argument was inappropriate for a sentencing hearing. But the judge did find merit in some of Monk's arguments.

"I'm absolutely convinced," Whittemore said to Moussaoui, "that you did not testify credibly to the jury."

Reporter Sherri Ackerman can be reached at (813) 259-7144 or sackerman@tampatrib.com

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/jul/14 ... s-breaking

Can parents get visas to the U.S. on the basis of their child having a student visa?

He is being prosecuted, Athan said, for the "innocent transitory possession of a firearm."

Moussaoui's parents insist their son never fired the rifle.

"My son never shoot that gun," Hamou Moussaou said. "He was just curious."

The parents story doesn't jive with what the judged witnessed on video tape.

Karim Moussaoui, 28, was convicted in April of a federal weapons charge for possessing a firearm, which violates his visa. Moussaoui said he was simply posing with the rifle for pictures.

U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore didn't buy it.

"He possessed it, he fired it, he shouldered it three times," the judge said Monday afternoon after reviewing a videotape obtained from the shooting range.

Shouldering the weapon three times would lead be to believe he was shooting it.

Moussaoui testified he had no idea his actions were illegal.

Please don't insult our intelligence, the rules of a student visa are explained in detail with the recipient. Simply holding a firearm would imply possession.

Originally Posted by MW

Moussaoui testified he had no idea his actions were illegal.

Please don't insult our intelligence, the rules of a student visa are explained in detail with the recipient. Simply holding a firearm would imply possession.

Regardless of whether or not they were explained in detail to him, ignorance doesn't typically work as a defense in court. It's too bad for him, but you've got to read the rules.

I find it odd that if you are latino gangmembers or illegal aliens who use a gun to kill someone get a slap on the wrist and this guy (legally in the US), gets 6 MONTHS for holding/shooting a rifle on a GUN RANGE?!?!?! C'mon! That's just asinine!

He's in violation of his student visa, ok I got that.

We can ignore tens of millions of illegal aliens violating a ton of laws daily, but THIS guy gets jail?!?!?!

What hypocritical BS!

He's won't fight deportation, unlike illegal aliens and gangbangers who have actually KILLED Americans do. This is sick!

Deputies had pulled over Megahed and another former USF student, Ahmed Mohamed, after becoming suspicious of their car and, according to authorities, found explosive materials in the trunk. Both were charged with transporting explosives.

In June, Mohamed pleaded guilty as part of an agreement to a charge he provided support to terrorists when he posted an Internet video showing how to detonate a bomb with a remote-controlled toy.

This guy posts "how to detonate" so the Feds must have had him on a watch list, get pulled over on a traffic stop, run NCIC and bingo.

Miguelina wrote:

I find it odd that if you are latino gangmembers or illegal aliens who use a gun to kill someone get a slap on the wrist and this guy (legally in the US), gets 6 MONTHS for holding/shooting a rifle on a GUN RANGE?!?!?! C'mon! That's just asinine!

All the immigration laws should be enforced. IMO, your suggestion that illegal aliens who murder with a firearm get off with a slap on the wrist is wrong. Furthermore, Moussaoui did not get the maximum sentence authorized for violating his student visa agreement. If you break the law, you should pay, regardless of who you are. Moussaoui should feel fortunate that he received less than the maximum penality.

I understand where you're coming from, Miguelina. However, arguing against a punishment that is being carried out in accordance with our written immigration laws would sort of make us hypocritcal wouldn't it? True, all our laws should be enforced but condemning the prosecution of one simply because another is too lax is counterproductive (IMO). We should always demand the enforcement of all our laws. Just my opinion, for what it's worth.

Originally Posted by MW

Miguelina wrote:

I find it odd that if you are latino gangmembers or illegal aliens who use a gun to kill someone get a slap on the wrist and this guy (legally in the US), gets 6 MONTHS for holding/shooting a rifle on a GUN RANGE?!?!?! C'mon! That's just asinine!

All the immigration laws should be enforced. IMO, your suggestion that illegal aliens who murder with a firearm get off with a slap on the wrist is wrong. Furthermore, Moussaoui did not get the maximum sentence authorized for violating his student visa agreement. If you break the law, you should pay, regardless of who you are. Moussaoui should feel fortunate that he received less than the maximum penality.

I understand where you're coming from, Miguelina. However, arguing against a punishment that is being carried out in accordance with our written immigration laws would sort of make us hypocritcal wouldn't it? True, all our laws should be enforced but condemning the prosecution of one simply because another is too lax is counterproductive (IMO). We should always demand the enforcement of all our laws. Just my opinion, for what it's worth.

EXACTLY! But the law is NOT enforced for everyone. If Moussaoui had been latino , the activists would have been up in arms. I felt like "playing" activist.

Miguelina wrote:

If Moussaoui had been latino , the activists would have been up in arms.

Oh, I'm sure you're right about that!

Ok, once again i'm confused! This guy is 28 and already a college grad. why is he still here on a student visa? Is he in graduate school?

Further:

In June, Mohamed pleaded guilty as part of an agreement to a charge he provided support to terrorists when he posted an Internet video showing how to detonate a bomb with a remote-controlled toy.

This moron is associating with someone who plead guilty to supporting terrorists!

There is no need for this guy to still be in this country! He should be deported the day his sentence is completed...