Hearing Set For USF Bomb Suspects

By JOSH POLTILOVE The Tampa Tribune

Published: Aug 23, 2007

TAMPA - A preliminary hearing for two University of South Florida students accused of carrying a pipe bomb and related paraphernalia while in South Carolina has been set for Sept. 21, the lawyer for one of the men said Wednesday.

A bond reconsideration hearing for Youssef Megahed and Ahmed Mohamed also may be held that day, said Megahed's attorney, Andrew J. Savage.

Megahed and Mohamed were charged after being pulled over Aug. 4 for speeding about seven miles from the Goose Creek Naval Weapons Station, which houses a military prison for enemy combatants.

The car was driving away from the station at the time. Savage said the men said they were in the area trying to buy gasoline for their car.

Investigators said they found an incendiary device in the vehicle; the men said the explosives were fireworks.

A laptop was confiscated during the arrest, and other items were seized when the FBI searched a Temple Terrace home Aug. 11 in connection with the men.

Savage said he thinks the focus of the investigation has shifted to Tampa.

FBI spokesman Dave Couvertier declined to comment, saying the investigation was ongoing.

In South Carolina, Mohamed's bail originally was set at $500,000 and Megahed's at $300,000. Neither man has an arrest record, records show.

Savage said the hearing Sept. 21 will help offer insight into the reason officers pulled over his client and why they thought a pipe bomb was in the vehicle.