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| New charges added in Fort Dix plot case | |
| 2008-01-17 | |
| HADDONFIELD, N.J. - A group of men accused of planning an attack on Fort Dix face additional charges, including attempted murder, after a grand jury concluded there was evidence the men tried to kill uniformed members of the military. In a federal indictment handed up Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Camden, the grand jury does not spell out why the attempted murder charges were added. Greg Reinert, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, declined to elaborate on it. Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, Serdar Tatar and brothers Dritan, Shain and Eljvir Duka were arrested last May and charged with conspiracy to attack the military base. The men — foreign-born Muslims who lived much of their lives in the New Jersey suburbs of Philadelphia — have denied the allegations.
Rocco C. Cipparone Jr., an attorney for Shnewer, said he expected the new charges. Troy A. Archie, lawyer for Eljvir Duka, said he doubted the new charges would delay the trial further because there was no additional evidence related to those charges. The trial is scheduled to begin March 24. In addition to the conspiracy charges all five face, the Duka brothers were also charged with possession of weapons by illegal aliens. Under Tuesday's amended indictment, they and Shnewer were additionally charged with possession of a firearm for an illegal act. Tatar doesn't face weapons charges. The indictment also says that Shnewer conducted surveillance at McGuire Air Force Base besides several other military installations the government had already said he scouted, including Fort Dix and Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Defense attorneys said their clients would likely be arraigned or formally told of the new charges at a status conference in court on Friday. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |