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JURY CONVICTS PAKISTANI STUDENT FOR UNLAWFULLY POSSESSING FIREARM

(HOUSTON) – A federal jury has convicted Syed Maaz Shah, 19, a Pakistani national in the United States on a student visa, of two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today.

The jury found Shah guilty today after deliberating for just over an hour following a three-day trial before United States District Judge Melinda Harmon. During the trial, the United States introduced photographs of Shah holding and firing an Armalite M-15, .223 caliber semi automatic rifle during firearms training sessions held over the weekends of January 13 and March 10, 2006, on private property located near Willis, Texas. Through the testimony of an ICE agent, the United States proved that Shah, a citizen of Pakistan, last entered the United States in August of 2005 as an F-1 student visa holder. Given Shah’s status as a non-immigrant student visa holder, Shah is prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm. A special agent of ATFE further related that the Armalite M-15 possessed by Shah in January and March of 2006 was operable and manufactured in Illinois and thus, traveled in interstate commerce.

In finding the defendant guilty, the jury rejected Shah’s claim that undercover officials working with the Houston Joint Terrorism Task Force impermissibly entrapped Shah. In arguing that Shah was not entrapped, but rather, was predisposed to commit the firearms violations, the United States presented evidence that at the time of Shah’s arrest on November 28, 2006, Shah orally confessed that he had an interest in weapons and had engaged in the firearms training weekends to prepare for “what may come.” Shah went on to state that he viewed American forces in Iraq as “invaders” and felt it was his duty to prepare for “Jihad,” described during the trial as armed combat. The United States also presented evidence showing that Shah had literature regarding Jihad on his computer, seized by FBI personnel at the time of Shah’s arrest.

“This case demonstrates our continued efforts to detect, disrupt and dismantle groups of individuals contemplating and training with a view toward jeopardizing our national security,” said United States Attorney DeGabrielle.

Shah, who testified during the trial, denied making a confession to the FBI; claimed many people had access to his laptop computer; and that he went to Willis, TX in January and March “to fish”. Shah also denied knowing that firearms training would occur over the January weekend. However, the government’s evidence included multiple recordings made by an undercover police official which showed Shah’s interest and knowledge that the January and March weekends would focus on military-style firearms and combat training. One of the recordings revealed that Shah had paid $30 for ammunition prior to engaging in the military-style combat training and target practice on January 14, 2006. The recordings further revealed that Shah and his companions, which included Houston residents Kobie Williams and Adnan Mirza, attended the second training session in March 2006, again for the purpose of participating in military-style training.

Williams and Mirza are charged in a separate but related case. Williams pled guilty on November 28, 2006, to conspiracy charges relating to funds earmarked for the Taliban and related firearms offenses, and is scheduled for sentencing on October 12, 2007. Mirza, charged with conspiracy and similar firearms offenses, is scheduled for trial on October 29, 2007. A related defendant, Shiraz Syed Qazi, a nonimmigrant F-1 student visa holder who also attended the Willis firearms training camp, was sentenced on May 17, 2007, to ten months incarceration for his unlawful possession of a firearm.

After releasing the jury, Judge Harmon scheduled Shah’s sentencing for September 14, 2007, at 10:00 am. At sentencing, Shah faces a statutory maximum punishment of ten years incarceration, without parole, and a $250,000 fine. Shah also faces potential deportation from the United States. Shah has been in federal custody, without bond, since his November 2006 arrest, and has been ordered to remain in custody pending his September sentencing date.

The investigation leading to the charges was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the agency’s Joint Terrorism Task Force with participation by: the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Houston Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety. Assistant United States Attorneys Shelley J. Hicks and Glenn Cook prosecuted the case.

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