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After 2 Days, Still No Verdict In Federal Explosives Trial

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By TOM BRENNAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 1, 2009

TAMPA - Jurors were unable to reach a verdict in their second day of deliberations in the federal explosives trial of Youssef Megahed.

They will resume deliberations Thursday.

Megahed, a former University of South Florida engineering student, is charged with illegally transporting explosives and possessing a destructive device.

Megahed and his friend Ahmed Mohamed where arrested after being pulled over for speeding near Goose Creek, S.C., on Aug. 4, 2007. Deputies said they found pipe bombs in the trunk of the car.

Prosecutors say the devices could have been modified to become more dangerous.

Defense attorneys say the devices were harmless fireworks or could have been used to propel model rockets, one of Mohamed's hobbies. They also say Megahed never knew about the devices.

During today's deliberations, jurors requested additional transcripts of a secretly taped conversation Megahed and Mohamed had in the back of a police cruiser while they were transported to jail following their arrest.

Jurors also wanted more copies of the transcript of a recorded meeting between Megahed and his parents while he was in jail.

Earlier in the day, the jury had offered to work late if the court provided pizza or sandwiches, but U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday told them he didn't have money to buy the meal or the staff to fetch it.

Jurors are considering testimony from more than three dozen witnesses and poring over more than 100 exhibits introduced in the more than two-week trial.

Megahed, 23, faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted as charged.

Mohamed, also a former USF student, is serving 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to helping terrorists by posting on YouTube a video in which he shows how to detonate a bomb with a remote-controlled toy.

Reporter Tom Brennan can be reached at (813) 259-7698.

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