TAMPA, Florida:A federal judge denied bail Thursday for an Egyptian college student arrested after authorities said they found explosive chemicals in his car near South Carolina Navy base.
US District Judge Steven Merryday said Youssef Samir Megahed is a a risk of flight and an unreasonable danger to the community, agreeing with prosecutors that the now-suspended University of South Florida student should stay in jail pending trial on federal explosives charges. The ruling reverses an earlier decision by another judge who had set bail at $200,000.
Megahed, 21, was arrested along with fellow USF student Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed, 24, during an Aug. 4 traffic stop in Goose Creek, S.C., about 15 miles northwest of Charleston and near a Navy weapons station.
In the trunk of their car, according an FBI agent s statement, police found 20 feet of fuse, a box of .22-caliber bullets, a drill, several gallons of gasoline, PVC piping and a mixture of explosive chemicals.
The agent also said Mohamed s laptop contained a video he made demonstrating how to convert a remote-control toy into a detonator for terrorist bombs.
Mohamed, who is also Egyptian, said he made the video to assist those persons in Arabic countries to defend themselves against the infidels invading their countries, according to the agent s statement. He said he considered American troops, and those military forces fighting with the American military, to be invaders of Arab countries, the statement said.
The students claimed they were on their way to a North Carolina beach and that they ended up in Goose Creek because they were looking for cheap gas.
In an e-mail to The Associated Press, Megahed s attorney, Adam Allen, confirmed bail was denied for his client, but did not offer addition comment. In a hearing earlier this month, Allen contended that Megahed didn t know anything about the explosives in the trunk or the video on the laptop. He also said Megahed has never been in trouble and isn t a flight risk because his family lives in Tampa.
Both men have pleaded not guilty. Mohamed is being held without bond.
A trial has been set Dec. 3. If convicted, Megahed faces up to 10 years in prison. Mohamed could get up to 30 years.
