AP News, September 4th, 2007
With a federal indictment in place, state charges will be dismissed against two Egyptian-born students who were stopped last month with what authorities said were pipe bombs, a prosecutor said Tuesday.
"I plan to dismiss the charges in favor of federal prosecution," said Scarlett Wilson, state prosecutor for Charleston and Berkeley counties.
Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed, 24, and Youssef Samir Megahed, 21, both students at the University of South Florida in Tampa, were arrested on state charges of possession of an explosive device following an Aug. 5 traffic stop in Goose Creek.
The men told police they had fireworks in the car and were driving through the area to vacation at a North Carolina beach, authorities said.
However, Wilson said at an arraignment that the devices were pipe bombs. Bail was set during that arraignment at $500,000 for Mohamed and $300,000 for Megahed.
Last week, the students were indicted on federal charges of carrying explosive materials across state lines. Mohamed also faces terrorism-related charges on suspicion of demonstrating how to use the explosives.
"Obviously the local authorities made the initial stop. But all of the analysis and background information was done by the feds," Wilson said.
The two are expected to make an initial appearance in federal court in Charleston as early as this week. A date has not been set, said Kevin McDonald, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Columbia.
The state charges will be dismissed once plans to move the men to federal custody have been worked out, Wilson said.
