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September 1, 2005
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latimes.com : California<br><br>
4 Are Indicted in Alleged Plot to Spread Terror<br>
By Greg Krikorian and Solomon Moore, Times Staff Writer<br><br>
A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted four men, including the leader
of a radical Islamist prison gang, for allegedly plotting a string of
terrorist attacks on U.S. military facilities and synagogues in southern
California.<br><br>
The six-count indictment accuses Kevin Lamar James, 29, Levar Haney
Washington, 25, and Gregory Vernon Patterson and Hammad Riaz Samana, both
21, of planning attack on sites including National Guard recruitment
centers and the Israeli Consulate.<br><br>
All four men were charged with conspiracy to levy war against the U.S.
government through terrorism. The plot, the indictment says, was hatched
by James, an inmate at the California State Prison in Sacramento and
founder of small gang of radical Muslims.<br><br>
Government officials say they have no evidence that the men were tied to
al-Qaida or other foreign terrorist group.<br><br>
Washington, his face and neck scrawled with Rollin' 60s street gang
tattoos, converted to Islam inside state prison walls, where he was doing
time for beating another gang member unconscious at a 1998 rap
concert.<br><br>
Patterson, 21, took classes at El Camino College and California State
University, Northridge, and still lived at home with his parents, both
community college employees. A former Catholic school student described
by his acquaintances as bookish and quiet, Patterson fell in love with
the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad and converted three years
ago.<br><br>
Samana was raised a Muslim in Pakistan and moved with his family five
years ago to an apartment in Inglewood. He worked at a Barnes & Noble
bookstore, attended Santa Monica College, played cricket and ran
cross-country.<br><br>
Despite their different backgrounds, the three young men shared a faith
took them to the Jamat-e-Masjidul Islam mosque, across the street from
Samana's apartment, three months ago.<br><br>
Authorities allege that their meeting at the mosque was a key moment in a
complex conspiracy that had its roots 400 miles away at a state prison in
Folsom.<br><br>
There, James dreamed up the idea of attacking targets in southern
California and urged Washington, then a fellow prisoner, to implement the
plan when released in November 2004, the indictment said.<br><br>
Prison officials years ago marked James as a radical Muslim and a
security threat, and transferred him from another state prison after he
allegedly founded a prison gang called Jamiyyat Ul Islam Is Saheeh, or
the Assembly of Authentic Islam. Authorities say the group espoused such
a violent interpretation of the Koran that they scattered its followers
across the state prison system in hopes of squelching the
movement.<br><br>
The alleged actions of Samana and Patterson troubles officials because
neither man had criminal records. But they said they are equally troubled
that James and Washington were allegedly able hatch the plot at a state
prison -- without any apparent ties to international terrorist
organizations.<br><br>
James, who also went by several aliases including Shakyh Shahaab Murshid
and Abdul-Wahid Ash-Sheena, "emerged from the Nation of Islam,"
said one official, who declined to be identified because of the
government's ban on speaking publicly about the case. "He decided
they were not radical enough."<br><br>
The Nation of Islam, led by Louis Farrakhan, is one of the largest Muslim
sects in U.S. prisons, though it differs from orthodox Islam in its
adherence to the teachings of the late black separatist, Elijah Muhammad.
Although the group has been criticized in the past for harshly condemning
the U.S. government and making anti-Semitic remarks, it publicly opposes
terrorism.<br><br>
James created Jamiyyat Ul Islam Is Saheeh, or JIS, while in prison at the
California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi, according to
investigators.<br><br>
James bolstered his Islamist credentials by claiming to have spent time
in Sudan, sources close to the investigation said. He clandestinely
distributed a protocol for his organization that justified attacks on
"enemies of Islam" including the U.S. government, Jews,
supporters of Israel and other "infidels," the indictment
said.<br><br>
This is how Washington got involved. Before Washington left Folsom, James
directed him to find recruits without felony records, acquire firearms
and then appoint one follower to learn about explosives or to recruit a
bomb maker, the indictment said.<br><br>
It was about six months after Washington left Folsom that he arrived at
the Inglewood mosque and met Samana and Patterson.<br><br>
Samana had long attended the mosque. Patterson started attending in
March, according to worshipers who saw the pair studying the Koran
together in the back of the congregation hall. Washington, 25, showed up
around May, his tattoos partially hidden behind an improvised headdress,
his violent past obscured by a placid demeanor and a friendly greeting -
"Asalam aleikum," or "peace be upon you." Worshippers
at the mosque recalled Washington's booming voice as he offered the
traditional "adnan," or call to prayer.<br><br>
"Once I asked him why he covers his face," said Imam Hashim
Ansari, one of two clerics who lead the Inglewood mosque. "He told
me that he was in a gang before he became a Muslim and had tattoos. He
said he was ashamed to show his tattoos in front of other
Muslims."<br><br>
Other than being a meeting place for the three men, officials say there
is no evidence that the mosque or its members had any role in the alleged
conspiracy.<br><br>
The group had gone as far as drawing up a list of potential targets,
federal prosecutors claim, and began robbing gas stations to raise money
for the attacks. The indictment said the defendants were trying to find
an explosives expert to help them.<br><br>
Authorities learned of the potential plot when Torrance police
investigating the robberies and found lists of targets and other
information at Washington's apartment in south Los Angeles.<br><br>
The indictment alleges that James continued to control the plot from
inside prison, receiving a June communication from Patterson, allegedly
updating him on what the indictment called "the progress of the
planned war against the United States Government through
terrorism."<br><br>
Patterson and Samana appear to be unlikely terrorist recruits.<br><br>
Patterson is the son of two educators -- his father a college professor,
his mother an administrator at Harbor College.<br><br>
Patterson's attorney, Winston Kevin McKesson, described his clients'
parents, Rodney and Abbie Patterson, as patriotic Americans who raised
their son as a Christian.<br><br>
"His family wants people to know that they believe in this
country," McKesson said Wednesday. "They are against religious
extremism, and they support the troops wherever they are fighting for
freedom in this country."<br><br>
The Pattersons live in a gated community in Gardena. Little is known
about his conversion to Islam; his mother said that he became attracted
to the religion three years ago.<br><br>
"I think it just came through his natural inquisitive nature, by
reading different books and that sort of thing," McKesson
said.<br><br>
As a teenager, Patterson first attended Junipero Serra High School, a
low-slung Catholic school in Gardena whose alumni included such storied
athletes as baseball's Barry Bonds and football's Tom Brady.<br><br>
Audet Shoukry, vice principal at Serra High, recalled Patterson as
"an overachieving nerd" who left the school during his freshman
year to take advantage of the medical magnet program at the King Drew
campus. His mother was active in the Parent Teacher Organization, she
said.<br><br>
McKesson said Patterson attended classes at El Camino College in Torrance
and California State University Northridge. Patterson also worked for six
months at a duty-free shop at Los Angeles International Airport. The
indictment said he researched El Al, Israel's national airline, on the
Internet.<br><br>
Imam Ansari said once Patterson started attending the Inglewood mosque,
he soon became friends with Samana.<br><br>
"Since Patterson was a new Muslim, he kept asking Hammad questions
and Hammad would tell him," said Ansari.<br><br>
Samana had been conducting basic, one-on-one Arabic classes with
Patterson for several months, Ansari said. They met regularly at the
mosque, Ansari said, usually within earshot of other
worshippers.<br><br>
Samana's friends recalled him as a studious and mild-mannered person,
devoted to his family, proficient in sports and orthodox in his Muslim
beliefs.<br><br>
Samana played in a community cricket league, ran cross-country at Santa
Monica College and used his salary as a clerk at Barnes & Noble to
help support his family, according to friends.<br><br>
Samana's apartment is located in a neighborhood of 1960s-style tenements,
duplexes and single-story homes. African Americans and Latinos
predominate the area, as well as many South Asian immigrants who walk to
mosque wearing traditional dishdasha robes, sandals and the occasional
Muslim veil.<br><br>
Ansari said Samana started coming to Jamat-e-Masjidul Islam regularly two
years ago and last year became his volunteer assistant - a role that had
him cleaning the ablution sinks, sweeping the shaded courtyard and
vacuuming the narrow congregation hall. Ansari also was teaching Samana,
whose first language is Urdu, to memorize the Koran in Arabic so that he
would be able to recite it verbatim during Ramadan. Samana had memorized
30 chapters, or about one-fourth of Islam's holiest book.<br><br>
Ansari said that he never discussed politics or even many religious
matters with Samana. Their sole focus, Ansari said, was on memorization
techniques, proper pronunciation, cadence and rhythm. They didn't even
delve into the meaning of the words they recited, Ansari said.<br><br>
"Sometimes I would see him playing basketball or cricket and I would
tell him, go memorize the Koran!" Ansari said.<br><br>
Mohammed A. Faheem, a friend and neighbor, said Samana often led prayers
for their cricket team. But this year, Samana had stopped playing sports
so that he could concentrate on his collegiate and religious
studies.<br><br>
During a brief interview last month, Samana's father, Riaz, denied that
his son had done anything wrong.<br><br>
"I think this is all a mistake," he said while walking to the
store for a pack of cigarettes. "He's a good boy. Yes,
devout."<br><br>
Mohammed Ali, 21, another former teammate from Costa Mesa, recalled him
chiding teammates when they swore aloud during cricket matches.<br><br>
"If we used bad words, he would basically say, 'Don't do
that,"' said Ali.<br><br>
Samana's former classmates at Santa Monica College said that he wore
traditional robes and prayer cap on Fridays, a day when many Muslims
attend congregational prayer services. They also recalled Samana's
complaints about American materialism.<br><br>
"He said, 'People, nowadays, money has changed them. Money has
changed everybody. Everybody is greedy,' " recalled Candelario
Rodriguez, Samana's teammate on the Santa Monica College cross country
team in 2002.<br><br>
Once, Samana told Rodriguez that he disagreed with how some in the United
States viewed the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.<br><br>
"He said they were blaming religion and religion didn't have
anything to do with it," Rodriguez said. "They were just people
who were (trying to send a message)."<br><br>
Times staff writers Jenifer Warren in Sacramento and Stuart Pfeifer and
Megan Garvey in Los Angeles and correspondent Robert Hollis in San
Francisco contributed to this report.<br><br>
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