Hearing for teenage suspect in Dallas terrorist bomb case to explore evidence
By APMonday, October 5, 2009
Jordan teen to have hearing in Dallas bomb plot
DALLAS — A teenager from Jordan accused of trying to blow up a Dallas skyscraper returns to federal court on Monday.
The hearing in Dallas will be to decide if there’s enough evidence to move ahead with the prosecution of 19-year-old Hosam Maher Smadi. Prosecutors will lay out their case, and a judge will decide whether it can go to a grand jury.
Smadi is charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.
Authorities say Smadi drove a truck he believed held a live bomb and parked it in a garage underneath the 60-story Fountain Place building on Sept. 24. Later, he allegedly dialed a phone he thought would ignite a blast.
Smadi’s attorney, assistant federal public defender Peter Fleury, did not returns calls for comment.
