ADVERTISEMENT 2
ADVERTISEMENT 3
Error: No articles to display
ADVERTISEMENT 1
ADVERTISEMENT 4
HOUSTON (AP) —
The national president of the Bandidos biker gang, who faces life in prison if convicted on racketeering, drug distribution and other charges, has been freed on $250,000 bond.
Jeffrey Pike of Conroe was released Monday following a detention hearing in Houston.
Pike and other Bandidos leaders were arrested last week in an investigation into racketeering, extortion, drug trafficking, murder and other violent crimes.
Attorneys for the 60-year-old Pike say he's no threat to the community. Several defense witnesses testified that they did not believe Pike would flee if granted bond.
Federal authorities accuse the Bandidos of waging a deadly "war" on the rival Cossacks biker gang. That rivalry entered the spotlight last May, when a shootout between police and bikers in Waco, Texas, left nine people dead.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) —
The mother of a fugitive teenager known for using an "affluenza" defense in a fatal drunken-driving wreck was released from a Texas jail on Tuesday, a day after a judge sharply reduced her $1 million bond for allegedly helping her son flee to Mexico.
Tonya Couch declined to speak with reporters when she was released from the Tarrant County Jail in Fort Worth. She posted the $75,000 bond and was ordered to wear an electronic ankle GPS monitor and remain at the home of another son, 29-year-old Steven McWilliams, except for appointments with her doctor and lawyer.
Her arrest affidavit alleges that she and her 18-year-old son, Ethan Couch, fled the state in December as Texas prosecutors investigated whether he had violated his probation in the 2013 wreck that killed four people. Both were taken into custody later that month in Puerto Vallarta, after a call for pizza delivery tipped off authorities to their whereabouts.
Tonya Couch is charged with hindering the apprehension of a felon and could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Ethan Couch is still being held in Mexico as he fights deportation.
During Ethan Couch's trial, a defense witness said the teen was coddled into a sense of irresponsibility by his wealthy parents, a condition the expert called "affluenza." The condition is not recognized as a medical diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association, and its invocation drew widespread ridicule.
Law enforcement officials said Tonya Couch, 48, and her son fled the U.S. after a video surfaced that appeared to show the teen at a party where people were drinking alcohol. If Ethan Couch was drinking, it would violate his probation and could lead to jail time.
According to an arrest warrant, Tonya Couch is accused of telling her estranged husband, Fred Couch, that he would never see her or his son again before fleeing.
The couple originally married in 1996, but divorced 10 years later. They remarried in April 2011, but court records show they are amid divorce proceedings and haven't been living together as husband and wife since at least August 2014.
Law enforcement officials have said the mother and son had a going-away party shortly before driving across the border in her pickup truck. They were first tracked to a resort condominium after ordering pizza before police found them at an apartment in Puerto Vallarta's old town.
When they were arrested, Ethan Couch appeared to have tried to disguise himself by dying his blond hair black and his beard brown, according to investigators.
HOUSTON – Omar Faraj Saeed Al Hardan, 24, a Palestinian born in Iraq, has been charged in a three-count indictment alleging that he attempted to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization.
U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, Special Agent in Charge Perrye K. Turner of the FBI’s Houston Division and Special Agent in Charge Brian M. Moskowitz of Homeland Investigations (HSI) in Houston made the announcement.
The three-count indictment was returned Jan. 6, 2016 and unsealed tonight. He will have his initial appearance tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. in Houston before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Milloy.
Al Hardan entered the United States as a refugee on or about Nov. 2, 2009. He was granted legal permanent residence status on or about Aug. 22, 2011, and resides in Houston.
He is charged with one count each of attempting to provide material support to ISIL, procurement of citizenship or naturalization unlawfully and making false statements.
The indictment alleges that Al Hardan attempted to provide material support and resources, including training, expert advice and assistance, and personnel – specifically himself – to a known foreign terrorist organization. According to the allegations, he also knowingly responded, certified and swore untruthfully on his formal application when applying to become a naturalized U.S. citizen. He allegedly represented that he was not associated with a terrorist organization when, in fact, he associated with members and sympathizers of ISIL throughout 2014, according to the charges. The indictment further alleges that during an interview in October 2015, Al Hardan falsely represented that he had never received any type of weapons training, when he allegedly received automatic machine gun training.
The charge of attempting to provide material support to terrorists carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. The charge of false citizenship procurement carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison (if the offense was committed to facilitate an act of international terrorism). The charge of making false statements carries a maximum sentence of eight years in prison. If convicted, any potential sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal history, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation.
The charges are the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and HSI with the assistance of the Houston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ralph Imperato is prosecuting the case along with Trial Attorney Kashyap Patel of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.