Deputy testifies he suspected Megahed, Mohamed had drugs

TAMPA -- A sheriff's deputy patrolling a rural South Carolina road on Aug. 4 suspected that Youssef Megahed and Ahmed Mohamed may have been drug traffickers.

Berkeley County sheriff's Cpl. James Lamar Blakely said he first noticed Megahed and Mohamed on a stretch of Highway 176, near Goose Creek, S.C., that has a known drug problem. When he saw a Florida tag on the car Mohamed was driving, Blakely became even more suspicious because Florida is known as a hub of drug activity, he said today in federal court.

Blakely spent most of the morning testifying at a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Pizzo, where defense attorneys are arguing that Blakely never had a legitimate reason to stop Megahed, 21, and Mohamed, 26, for speeding or valid consent to search their vehicle.

Assistant federal public defender Adam Allen has argued in court motions that the judge should throw out any information gathered because of the traffic stop.

Prosecutors said that during the car search, investigators found incomplete pipe bombs and fuses in the trunk, along with a box of .22-caliber bullets under a seat. Blakely said the men acted "weird" before they stopped the car, making "reaching movements" toward the center of the car.

The deputy said that Megahed hastily unplugged a laptop computer and tossed it into the back seat of the car as the deputy approached Mohamed on the driver's side.

Both men have been charged with illegally transporting explosive materials. Mohamed faces an additional charge of demonstrating how to make an explosive device. Prosecutors said he admitted to posting a video to YouTube where he narrated how to turn a child's remote control toy into a detonator.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hoffer has shown the first 30 minutes of the recorded traffic stop done by Blakely. His patrol car was equipped with a camera mounted below his rear-view mirror, and the deputy wore a portable microphone on his belt that recorded his conversations.

Much of what Blakely has said today on the stand was already made public through court records, including blunt remarks he made to another deputy with jokes about Megahed and Mohamed being suicide bombers or members of the Taliban.

"I made some jokes that were unprofessional," Blakely said in court.

"I got a Taliban, Bro. S---," Blakely was recorded telling the other deputy. "Them boys got me scared."

"Yeah, I'm getting the hell out of here," the unidentified officer responded.

"Hey, they probably got a bomb strapped to 'em and s---," Blakely said.

The deputy also maintains that he stopped the men because they were traveling 60 mph in a 45 mph zone. He said Mohamed drove about a mile before pulling over.

Once Blakely began questioning the men about their travels, he said he doubted their story. He estimated it should have taken no longer than six hours for them to arrive where they were from Tampa. But Megahed and Mohamed had been driving for nearly 14 hours, he said.

Blakely said he also doubted that they had visited several beaches on their trip as they has said, because he did not find sand or wet clothes in their car.

Prosecutors are expected to call three more witnesses to testify in the hearing before defense attorneys present their evidence.

The hearing is expected to last all day.

Complete coverage: USF students under suspicion

- Kevin Graham, Times staff writer

Comments

[American]

I don't care what the defence says, these guys were up to no good. Nothing adds up. They may not be Taliban but there is something very strange as to what they were up to. Normal people do not act this way nor do they have huge smiles in their booking photos!

[ab]

Just because he had a license plate that said he's from Florida, doesn't necessarily mean that he's involved in drugs. Not everyone in this state is involved in drugs. I take offense to that.

[Steven Tamayo]

They smiled in their booking photos? LYNCH THEM!!!

[Kay]

Remove FL tag before leaving state: check. Do not use laptop during travel: check. Do not act "weird" by reaching to turn down stereo: check. Do not speed: check. Never answer any questions: check. (c'mon: no sand or wet clothes? 6 hour drive from Tampa?)

[go rays]

Ever seen Tom DeLay's mug shot?

[Tim]

Do not post videos of how to create detonators: check. Do not tell an officer it took you 24 hours to make a 10 hour drive: check. Do not carry materials that could be made into an explosive device near a military institution: check.

[Jeff]

Most people have a gas tank full of explosive material in their cars. Are you running yours on hugs and smiles?

[Jeff]

These South Carolina hick cops are making our hick cops look like model police officers.

[justme]

There are many states that look out for Florida tags.. try going into Canada. LOL Unfortunately is those few drug running vehicles that ruin it for the legit people.
Anyway's Megahed and Mohamed stories just don't really add up. If something had happened then people would be going.."they should have" or whatever. Today, we can't be to careful. Thankfully nothing bad happened.

[Gulfwar Veteran]

In the name of the Patriot Act, the police are right on this stop!

The stories of the defendants might not add up, but that doesn't mean the cops had reason to stop and search.

I mean, seriously, no sand or wet clothes? Unless you had already searched the car to see if there was wet clothing (and ever hear of vacuuming?) that could not be a valid reason to doubt them to search.

Lying about the time it took to drive and lack of something you cannot know about unless searched for....THESE make someone search?

I would not want guilty men to walk, BUT I would not want people to have their rights violated if innocent. They are presumed innocent. Cops need to wise up and stick to the law. These guys make the good ones look bad.

[L. Ranger]

For all the commentors who believe the M&M students were stopped and searched illegaly.... Take the time to study the law. Going 60 in a 45 mph zone is all that was needed to justify this stop and search. Period. Once stopped for a moving violation its up to the deputy's descretion to ask to search the car, based on any kind of suspicion. Once permission is given, as it was in this case, anything found can and usually will be used against you in a court of law. This was and is a legal bust. It is illegal to possess home made explosive materials, pipe bombs etc. and it is illegal to transport said materials across state lines. Remember too, neither one of these two individuals are American citizens, but guests, allowed to stay in this country to attend school not to violate the law or to manufacture "fireworks" and teach people how to make dangerous explosive devices.
Make them pay the price for the laws they have already violated and send them back to their own country. "Toot Sweet"

It seems the argument made by the defense is about what happened in between the time he would have cited them and the time he asked for a search. The argument is that he had no further reason to hold them.

From a previous report:

"Shockingly, on the video, Deputy Blakely even expresses concern over the fact that his ethically-inappropriate remarks were being recorded by his in-vehicle video recorder," assistant federal public defender James W. Smith III wrote in a motion. "These and other inappropriate, ethnically-stereotyping comments occurred prior to the search and discovery of any items in the vehicle and shockingly illustrate that Deputy Blakely's decision to search the vehicle was not based on reasonable suspicion of unlawful acts but upon nothing more than his own biased, unlawful racial profiling."

...

Smith filed a motion to suppress any physical evidence or statements made by Megahed during the traffic stop.

Blakely did a records check after stopping the pair for speeding and found that Mohamed, who was driving, had a valid license and there was no warrant for either of their arrests. The car was also properly registered, Smith said.

"Once Deputy Blakely conducted his records check and had all the information he needed to issue a traffic citation, the traffic investigation was over and the vehicle and its occupants should have been free to leave," Smith wrote.

Instead, the men were ordered out of the car. They consented to a search and were placed in handcuffs when deputies found a box of bullets beneath a seat.

Megahed was questioned about the contents of the car, but Blakely never read him his Miranda rights, Smith said.

"Such questioning by Deputy Blakely was illegal," Smith wrote.

The men told the deputies they were on a road trip to see the beaches of South Carolina with fireworks in their trunk.

"Despite this benign explanation, for some unknown reason, Deputy Blakely was unsatisfied with the response and continued to question Mr. Mohamed in a very aggressive and detailed manner," Smith wrote. "A viewing of the video tape makes it clear that nothing in the responses given by Mr. Mohamed or Mr. Megahed would lead a reasonable law enforcement officer to conclude that any illegal activity was taking place."

[Tom D]

L Ranger makes every perfect argument for the reasonableness of this search. As an ex-Police Officer from a large city I personally would be very proud of this Deputies astuteness. We should have more like him. He should be rewarded for being atentive , not scolded for unreasonableness.

[Mike]

I just assumed the cops pulled them over because they thought the guys were there to vote. Florida license plates, though. Now I get it.

[Carol]

Thankfully the majority of you goofballs who are actually FOR these idiots, don't monitor airplanes and such. What a bunch of morons.

Carol: I don't think anyone is FOR them, just for, oh, I don't know, the police following procedure and not violating rights?

The attorney makes a decent point. If they had been ticketed and that was the reason for the stop, what made the officer keep the men after they were cited? That is what the testimony was about. So he's trying to say that he's biased against Floridians, but his recorded comments don't seem to back that up. (Unless there is something the Times is not reporting on the tape.)

Odds are he prevented something. But each and every officer must act as though each and every stop will be scrutinized. If they don't, they have themselves to blame if the men walk. If they don't, the justice system is screwed.

[l. Ranger]

To Tom D. Thank you for your comments on my earlier posting. Its comforting to know there are still cool headed and reasonable people like yourself out there who understand what a difficult and important job our law enforcement personnel perform everyday, putting their own lives at risk so the general population can continue to be made as safe as possible from those who have no respect for our law or the lives and properties of others. Too bad you are an ex-policeman, we need more like you.

Florida is known as a hub of drug activity? What's South Carolina known for? Anything? Anybody?

[FDM]

Good to know that having a Florida license plate constitutes probable cause that you are committing a crime.

[FDM]

Yes, these guys were probably planning to do something illegal(potentially catastrophic), but this search was improper and everything found in the search should be thrown out.

[James]

Actually the FBI has already stated that the materials they had were just sugar rockets that don't explode. Regardless there has already been challenges to illegal search and seizures from traffice stops. Speeding does not give the police officers the right to search your vehicle. Anyone who consents to a search is giving up their rights.
People need to stop giving up the rights we are guaranteed by the Contitution.

[David M.]

We ask a lot of our law enforcement officers. Among other things, we ask that they protect the safety of the public. Law enforcement was soundly criticized for failing to stop the 911 attacks. Imagine how hard it would have been to prove that Mohammed Atta was about to crash a plane into buildings. I mean, all he had was a box cutter! Even after finding the box cutter on him, they probably would have had to let him on the plan that morning anyway or be sued for violating his civil rights after making the innocent mistake of carrying a box cutter.

At some point, one's right to privacy takes a back seat to concerns for the public safety. This is a difficult line to draw. When someone has a deadly communicable disease like TB, or Plague, they are quarantined so they do not infect others. This is surely a violation of their civil rights, but most people agree that it is required for public safety.

I am happy to give a police officer permission to search my car anytime in the spirit of cooperation and to help them keep me safe. I have nothing to hide.

People complain all the time that when the courts blindly follow the letter of the law it often results a violation of the spirit of the law, and that the merits of each case must be taken into account. Protecting everyones "rights" to a fault may not always be a good thing if it results in a danger to the public. Good police work often results from a gut feeling. It's what keeps cops alive while performing very hazardous duties.

The officers made some indelicate remarks. Were they racist? No, Islam is not a race. They were carrying a Koran , which means that they likely follow an ideology that is used by millions of people around the world as justification to blow things up. Had they been carrying a bible on their lap with anti-abortion literature they would have also been scrutinized more closely as well. Combined with the other circumstances observed by the officers, they made a good call to search the vehicle and they hit pay dirt.

Let's be fair here. No reasonable person supports the malicious violation of our right to privacy and equal protection under the law. But we should have a cooperative relationship with our law enforcement officers, not an adversarial one. Would YOU want to be a cop?