Editor:I’m reporting the news as it was reported by many media outlets yesterday, but I have to say my gut tells me there is something fishy going on here. My earlier posts are hereand here.
While the Egyptian national who was released (and was given his passport back) has an attorney, Santana Renee Adams desperately needs someone courageous to defend her.
Mohamed Fathy Hussein Zayan and attorney Michelle Protzman speak during a news conference Thursday, April 4, 2019, at the Barboursville Police Department in Barboursville, W.Va.
When Adams was arrested and charged yesterday, she had no attorney. Sources who spoke with Adams family report that there is a lot more to the story than the police and the media are saying. Hereis the Associated Press version of what happened,
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A woman who told police that an Egyptian man had tried to kidnap her daughter from a West Virginia shopping mall was jailed Friday after the accusation unraveled, a police detective said. Adams, mother of several small children, under arrest. No attorney present. https://www.wtap.com/content/news/Police-to-charge-woman-who-falsely-accused-Egyptian-man-of-abduction-in-WVa-mall-508166861.html
Barboursville Police Detective Greg Lucas said Santana Renee Adams was charged with falsely reporting an emergency incident, a misdemeanor that carries up to six months in jail and a $500 fine. The 24-year-old Adams turned herself in about 2 p.m. and was jailed after a magistrate judge set bail at $20,000, Lucas said. She was calm and quiet while she was booked and ignored questions from a throng of reporters waiting for her at the courthouse, he said. Lucas said she didn’t have an attorney yet.
The charge capped a sensational tale of a mother using a gun to thwart a brazen abduction attempt that quickly fell apart amid inconsistencies.
More here. For those of you wondering if this is all about the fact that she had a gun, I am told that there is no requirement in West Virginia to have a permit for a concealed weapon. WV is a Constitutional Carry state, see here.
Did she reveal her gun to the Egyptian man during the disputed incident?
The spokesman for the Barbourville Police Department says in this press conference (scroll down in story) that he didn’t know if she did, or did not, because there is no surveillance video of the interaction, he said!
So, if there is no video of the incident, and no witnesses, then this whole case revolves around her story versus his story, and who is more believable, right?
But, making matters more confusing for those of us smelling a rat, the police spokesman says in that same video that “there is still an uninvited touching of a child.” That is considered battery, he goes on to say.
He sounded so sure that the unwanted touching is not in dispute, so was he basing that only on what Adams said, or did Zayan confirm that as well? Zayan says he wants to be cleared so he can come back and forth to America!
I wonder because in another news account Zayan said this when charges were dropped against him,
Zayan, speaking to reporters, said he had never seen Adams and would not be able to point out her or her daughter if they were standing in front of him.
“I haven’t seen her. I don’t know her,” he said.
I assume he said all that in English, so if anyone finds that video of that press conference, let me know because this is what we were told when he was arraigned,
An interpreter was present for Zayan’s arraignment as he spoke Arabic and did not speak English.
Bottomline, with questions swirling in my mind, I’m losing some sleep over this story and I sure hope someone, preferably a good (brave) lawyer! jumps in to help unravel what happened at the mall that night.
But, perhaps even more importantly: Were there political machinations going on behind the scenes after the Egyptian consulate became involved?
Going forward, please don’t hesitate to send me information on this case and those involved. But, remember I can’t post hearsay! Send to: frauds.crooks.criminals@gmail.com
Hmmmm! I’m going to give you the news as it is being reported by local media, but I think there are some pieces missing in the story. Mohamed Fathy Hussein Zayan was arrested in the Food Court at the Huntington, WV mall
Most importantly the phrase “cultural misinterpretation” supposedly used by the mother to explain her reaction to a strangers approach to her daughter and subsequently the retraction of her story strikes me as contrived, or suggested by someone else. Who?
My original story is here.
At the very least, surely a cultural message has been sent to ‘new Americans.’ The message is that, in America, strangers do not touch other people’s children in a mall or anywhere for that matter! Continue reading “West Virginia Woman Changes her Story about Egyptian Man's Intentions Toward her Daughter”→
Update! The mother is changing her story, says there might have been a “cultural misunderstanding.” See here.
Will keep an eye on this…..
Reports so far are sketchy, but last night a mother who was packing a fire arm was able to stop what appears to be a kidnap attempt involving her 5-year old daughter. Mohammad Fathy Hussein Zayan is under arrest after he allegedly grabbed the young girl by her hair and attempted to drag her away from her mother. Mohammad Fathy Hussein Zayan, 54, of Egypt was arraigned Monday night.
But, the Somali “community” of Minneapolis doesn’t believe that Abdi Yusuf Hassanis guilty of the charges and they gathered at a Twin Cities Courthouse with their long-established mouthpiece Omar Jamalto proclaim his innocence.
Hassan is most likely one of tens of thousands of Somalis welcomed by the federal government and US State Department resettlement contractors and placed in Minnesota—a ‘new American’ indeed!
First see theAP story about Hassan’s arrest,
US citizen charged in kidnapping of journalist in Somalia
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A U.S. citizen has been charged with kidnapping and other counts for his alleged role in the abduction of a freelance journalist who was held hostage in Somalia for nearly three years, according to federal charging documents unsealed Thursday in New York.
According to a criminal complaint, Abdi Yusuf Hassan was part of a conspiracy to kidnap the journalist in January 2012 in Galkayo, Somalia, and demand $20 million in ransom. The journalist was released Sept. 23, 2014.
While the journalist is not named in the complaint or in a superseding indictment, the dates of his capture and release, and several details outlined in the court documents, match the experiences of author Michael Scott Moore, a German-American who was abducted by pirates in Somalia while he was there writing a book about piracy. Journalist Moore. His family ultimately paid $1.6 million for his release
Moore’s publicist said he was unreachable for an interview Thursday. In November, Moore confirmed to the New York Times that another man indicted in the case, Mohamed Tahlil Mohamed, was one of his captors. Mohamed and Hassan are listed as co-defendants. According to court documents, Hassan, 51, was born in Mogadishu and is a naturalized U.S. citizen. He faces six counts, including kidnapping conspiracy, hostage-taking conspiracy and unlawful use of firearms. He was arrested in Minneapolis on Friday and will be returned to New York to face charges.It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney in New York to comment on his behalf.
[….] The complaint says Hassan spoke English and was a translator for the hostage takers; the journalist, who identified Hassan from a lineup, said he also appeared to hold a leadership position over the other guards.
Much more hereabout the details of the kidnapping.
Now this, from CBS-Minnesota…
The Somali community led by none-other than the Somali Jesse Jackson, Omar Jamal, came out to the courthouse to say the feds have it all wrong. He, Hassan, was just there to help free kidnap victims.
Minneapolis Man Accused Of Holding American Journalist Hostage In Somalia
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A Twin Cities man has been indicted for allegedly helping co-conspirators hold a journalist captive for more than two years.
Abdi Yusuf Hassan, who moved to Minnesota in 1998, is accused of holding three people hostage on the coast of Somalia.
[….]
On a crisp winter day, dozens from one of Minnesota’s strongest immigrant communities stood together to stand behind Abdi Yusuf Hassan, filing into the Minneapolis courthouse.
A loved one told WCCO-TV, “He’s innocent, completely innocent.”
Omar Jamal is back!
I haven’t seen him mentioned for a long time. I’ve followed his ‘career’ (going back more than ten years!) as he was the mouthpiece for any Somali in trouble in Minnesota (and elsewhere!) for anything at anytime! Jamal was not a refugee, but had actually gotten into the US illegally from Canada and was never removed. For at least a dozen posts on Jamal go here.
Don’t miss one of my favorite stories about Jamal, here in 2008, when I coined his nickname—Somali Jesse Jackson! CBS continues….
Federal papers show the captured journalist identified Hassan as one of the leaders of the operation. According to the indictment, Hassan speaks English and served as a translator for the hostage-takers and regularly communicated with the journalist. Omar Jamal: the community activist go-to guy for the media! Community activist Omar Jamal testified in court Thursday on behalf of his friend.
“He was in no way, shape or form that he was involved. Having known him for 20 years, the kind of guy he is, I don’t think so,” Jamal said.
He says Hassan has been working in Somalia the past few years to help rebuild the government, and that Hassan was simply helping translate negotiations with the journalist’s kidnappers, trying to help.
Since the community is so close-knit, I wonder if the alleged kidnapper Hassan is a friend of Ilhan Omar? Does anyone know? Maybe a contributor to her political campaign?
Since the community is so close-knit, I wonder if the alleged kidnapper Hassan is a friend of