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Jailed USF Students Didn't Have Explosives, Report Says

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By ELAINE SILVESTRINI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 30, 2008

TAMPA - TAMPA - An FBI report supports claims by two Egyptian students that the devices they had in the trunk of their car last August were fireworks and not explosives, a defense attorney argues in a new court filing.

The FBI laboratory tests concluded the materials in the trunk of two University of South Florida students' car were "pyrotechnics" that could at most forcefully release smoke, according to the court filing.

Youssef Megahed and Ahmed Mohamed were arrested Aug. 4 in South Carolina after deputies said they found pipe bombs in their trunk. A federal prosecutor later backed away from that characterization, describing the devices made from a mixture stuffed into PVC pipes as low-grade explosives. Both men were charged with illegally transporting explosive materials.

Mohamed, 26, is also charged with trying to help terrorists by posting a video on the Internet in which he shows how to use a remote-controlled toy to detonate a bomb.

The prosecution recently released to the defense an FBI laboratory report that concludes that the mixture contained in the pipes "is a pyrotechnic mixture composed of potassium nitrate and sugar. This mixture is also considered a low explosive." The report gives examples of low explosives: fireworks, black powder and road flares.

Assistant Federal Public Defender Adam B. Allen, who represents Megahed, 21, argues in court papers that, "A 'pyrotechnic mixture,' while commonly referred to as a 'low explosive' is not scientifically nor legally defined as 'explosive materials.' "

The FBI report describes experiments in which several variations of the mixture and configurations of the pipe were ignited. None of the experiments resulted in an explosion, according to the report, which describes the results mostly involving the release of smoke. The report says the "most violent" results "produced enough heat to cause the PVC tubes to melt and burn."

Allen argues in his court filing that this demonstrates that the mixture found in the PVC pipes was "completely harmless if ignited…This scientifically-controlled testing established that the PVC pipes found in the trunk of the defendants' vehicle would not explode when ignited, but instead, would likely either burn, smoke, or do nothing at all."

Mohamed told authorities at the time of the arrest that the devices were "sugar rockets" or homemade fireworks, and that he hoped to set them off in a field, according to other court documents.

Allen filed a motion late today asking a judge to reconsider his order to keep Megahed behind bars without bail, based in part on his finding that Megahed poses a danger to the community.

Allen quoted from a ruling by U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday, who wrote that Megahed is accused of "transporting a simple but effective explosive compound, readily manufactured from commonly available ingredients. The most plausible and still unrebutted inference from the evidence is that someone, either Megahed and Mohamed or someone acting in concert, intended to use the compound to achieve the compound's intended and essential purpose, an explosion."

Allen also maintains that the FBI analysis of a GPS device found in the men's car documents that the duo were really on a low-budget road trip, with an ultimate destination of Sunset Beach, N.C., "a beach community located just over the South Carolina border."

Among the places the pair visited, the GPS device examination shows, were Statesboro and Savannah and Tybee Island, Ga., as well as Walterboro and Charleston, S.C., Allen wrote.

Megahed is a legal permanent resident of the U.S. According to a footnote in the defense filing, he and his family have recently been granted an interview with immigration officials about their pending application to become U.S. citizens.

Reporter Elaine Silvestrini can be reached at (813) 259-7837 or esilvestrini@tampatrib.com.

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