TAMPA, Florida: A sheriff s deputy acknowledged that he used the terms “terrorist and “Taliban to describe a pair of Egyptian college students just before a search of their car turned up explosive materials in the trunk.Attorneys for Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed and Youssef Samir Megahed said the Berkeley County, South Carolina, sheriff s deputy conducted the Aug. 4 search primarily because they were of Middle Eastern descent and had copies of the Quran.
The defense alleges the deputy, James Blakely, had neither probable cause nor consent, and wants all evidence found during the search thrown out for the pair s upcoming trial on charges of illegally transporting explosives.
After pulling Mohamed over for speeding, Blakely was caught on his patrol car video joking with a colleague about how the students “probably got a bomb strapped to them and saying, “I think they re part of the damn Taliban.
When asked about the comments during a federal court hearing Tuesday, Blakely testified, “I made some jokes – it was unprofessional.
Blakely, however, said he decided to search the car because Mohamed hesitated before pulling over after the deputy activated the emergency lights on his patrol car.
Also, the deputy said, passenger Megahed slammed shut a laptop computer and began fumbling in the console as if he was trying to conceal something.
And when questioned, the two seemed unclear about where they had been.Blakely said he initially suspected they were carrying drugs. When he asked permission to search the car, Mohamed answered, “If you must, the patrol car video showed. Blakely said he took that as consent to search.
Mohamed, 26, and Megahed, 21, have been in jail since their arrests in South Carolina.
Prosecutors say they were illegally carrying dangerous explosives when they were pulled over in Goose Creek, South Carolina, near a naval weapons station in Charleston.
The University of South Florida engineering students say they were on an innocent road trip to see the Carolina beaches. And they contend that the materials that resulted in the charges – fuses and PVC pipe containing a mixture of sugar and potassium nitrate, capped with cat litter – were being used by Mohamed to make fireworks.
Mohamed also has been charged in connection with a video in which authorities say he demonstrates how to convert a remote-control toy into a detonator for a bomb.
According to an FBI affidavit, he told authorities that he made the video “to assist those persons in Arabic countries to defend themselves against the infidels invading their countries.
The hearing continues Wednesday. The trial is scheduled for next month.
