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Explosives Case Could Go To Trial In March

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By ELAINE SILVESTRINI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 26, 2009

TAMPA - A federal judge told lawyers this afternoon to get ready to take the case of Youseff Megahed to trial.

Megahed and his friend Ahmed Mohamed were arrested in South Carolina after deputies found what they said were explosives in their car. At the time, both were University of South Florida students.

Megahed is charged with transporting explosives.

Mohamed was sentenced last month to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to helping terrorists in connection with a video he made and posted to the Web site YouTube. The video showed how to use a remote-controlled toy to detonate a bomb.

Megahed is not accused of involvement with that video.

Megahed had been scheduled to stand trial in May but it was postponed when prosecutors appealed unfavorable evidence rulings by trial Judge Steven D. Merryday.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals last week ruled against the prosecution, but the parties are still awaiting a court order that would return jurisdiction of the case to Merryday. That could take several weeks.

If not for that issue, Merryday said he would want to try the case in February. The judge, however, told lawyers he hopes to conduct a trial in March, possibly March 23.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Monk told Merryday the prosecution estimates it will have 30 witnesses and the trial will take two to three weeks.

Adam Allen, one of Megahed's public defenders, said he was "shocked" that prosecutors want that long, especially since Mohamed is no longer part of the case.

The appeal centered around Merryday's ruling that prosecutors could not show jurors videos that investigators found on Megahed's family computer of rockets firing in the Middle East.

The prosecution also was barred from showing jurors Mohamed's YouTube video.

Prosecutors said showing the videos was crucial to proving Megahed's intent when he traveled with Mohamed to South Carolina.

The defense argued the videos were irrelevant and inflammatory and that the only issue to be decided at trial is whether the items in the trunk meet the legal definition of explosives.

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

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