Charges Dropped Against Men Caught With Many Phones
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
MARIETTA, Ohio — Prosecutors dropped terrorism charges yesterday against two Michigan men who were arrested after buying large numbers of cell phones, saying they could not prove a terrorism link.
The dismissal, in a one-page court document, came the day after the Washington County prosecutor, James Schneider, said he did not have enough evidence to present the felony charges to a grand jury. Ali Houssaiky and Osama Sabhi Abulhassan, both of Dearborn, Mich., left prison after paying a reduced bond on the remaining misdemeanor counts of falsification.
The remaining counts stem from allegations that the men initially gave deputies different names than appeared on their IDs. The men also initially said they were buying phones for a relative’s construction business, then changed the story when deputies asked for contact information, Mr. Schneider said.
Mr. Schneider said his office and federal authorities do not believe “the defendants pose an imminent threat.”
Within days of the Ohio arrests, three Palestinian-American men from Texas were charged in Michigan after nearly 1,000 cell phones were found in a van they were driving.
