Luggage Thefts A former baggage handler at Baltimore-Washington International Airport pleaded guilty yesterday to felony theft and agreed to testify against two co-workers who are accused, as he was, of stealing belongings from the luggage of troops bound for Afghanistan and Iraq.
In exchange for his testimony, several charges were dropped and Shaka Watson, 20, of Baltimore was allowed to plead guilty only to the theft of a laptop computer. Watson was sentenced to four years in prison, suspended after two years, and three years of probation. He also agreed to forfeit more than 80 items, including DVDs and laptops.
Anne Arundel County prosecutors said Watson, under questioning in December, confessed to stealing from soldiers. Co-defendants Michael Harlee and Derek Murray, who like Watson worked for a private company that had a contract to load and unload military aircraft, are to face trial in September.
Gang-Involved Charges A 15-year-old Silver Spring boy was ordered held without bond yesterday in connection with a gang-related attack that involved baseball bats, machetes and knives.
Jose Ortiz, of the 500 block of Southampton Drive, is charged as an adult with two counts of each of attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, second-degree assault and conspiracy to commit attempted first-degree murder, according to charging documents filed in Montgomery County District Court.
Ortiz was part of group of youths who shouted "MS-13" -- the name of a violent street gang -- and "Get them and kill them" on June 14 before chasing two young men and slashing one with a machete and stabbing the other in the side, police say. One of the victims also was beaten with a baseball bat, documents state. Both suffered severe lacerations on their arms.
VIRGINIA
Not Guilty Plea A Northern Virginia man pleaded not guilty yesterday to running an unlicensed financial business that federal officials alleged had transferred more than $23 million abroad in recent years, much of it to Syria.
Louay Habbal, 45, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Syria, was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Alexandria and released, but must wear an electronic monitoring device, his attorney said. He was arrested last week at Dulles International Airport as part of a four-year crackdown on unlicensed money-transmitters.
Habbal, a Vienna resident who operated Mena Exchange, "is not a terrorist and there is no evidence that he was involved in any terrorist-related activities," said his attorney, Thomas Abbenante. Federal authorities said there was no evidence that the money went to terrorists, but the case caused concern because Syria is considered a sponsor of terrorism.
Compiled from reports by staff writers.
VIRGINIA
Not Guilty Plea A Northern Virginia man pleaded not guilty yesterday to running an unlicensed financial business that federal officials alleged had transferred more than $23 million abroad in recent years, much of it to Syria.
Louay Habbal, 45, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Syria, was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Alexandria and released, but must wear an electronic monitoring device, his attorney said. He was arrested last week at Dulles International Airport as part of a four-year crackdown on unlicensed money-transmitters.
Habbal, a Vienna resident who operated Mena Exchange, "is not a terrorist and there is no evidence that he was involved in any terrorist-related activities," said his attorney, Thomas Abbenante. Federal authorities said there was no evidence that the money went to terrorists, but the case caused concern because Syria is considered a sponsor of terrorism.
Compiled from reports by staff writers.
