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Whoa: Judge Tosses Charges For Three Of The New Mexico Terror Suspects; UPDATE: Charges Dismissed For All

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  August 29, 2018 5:25 PM

A New Mexico judge has thrown out charges against three of the five terror suspects, some of whom were also facing child abuse charges that also carried a life sentence. The reason for the charges being tossed is because the prosecution reportedly blew past the 10-day rule, the period in which the state needed to present to the court why these people were risks to the public (via Fox News):

A New Mexico judge dismissed all charges against three suspects tied to a compound where alleged Muslim extremists reportedly trained children to be school shooters.

District Judge Emilio Chavez on Wednesday dismissed charges against three of the five defendants, ruling that authorities violated the state’s “10-day rule.”

Child abuse charges against Lucas Morton, Subhannah Wahhaj and Hujrah Wahhaj were dropped because prosecutors missed the 10-day limit for an evidentiary hearing to establish probable cause.

During a separate hearing, Judge Jeff McElroy separately dismissed some of the charges against fellow defendants, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj and Jany Leveille.

All five were arrested earlier this month when their compound was raided by authorities. Eleven children were also found on the property. The conditions were reportedly awful.  These kids were being trained to commit mass shootings, targeting schools and hospitals. It’s a terror camp. Most of them were also granted release on bail. If the $20,000 bond threshold seemed low, it’s because the judge, Sarah Backus, has a history of setting low bail for violent offenders.  The remains of a three-year-old child named  

Abdul-ghani Wahhaj were also found, he was reportedly the son of ringleader Siraj Ibn Wahhaj. Siraj’s father, same name, is an unindicted co-conspirator of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. He’s also being held over a warrant from Georgia; he allegedly kidnapped his son to perform an exorcism. The investigation into the child’s disappearance led investigators to his compound. He’s also been hit with child abuse resulting in death of a child charges. The Associated Press reported that prosecutors are looking at other ways to ensure all five are charged:

Judge Emilio Chavez ruled that he could not keep the three in custody because prosecutors missed a 10-day deadline for a court hearing to establish probable cause for the neglect charges.

Prosecutors have other options for pursuing charges against the three — Lucas Morton, Subhannah Wahhaj and Hujrah Wahhaj. That could include refiling the charges or asking a grand jury to indict them.

Prosecutors had pressed to keep them behind bars and planned to present new evidence of an anti-government plot and talk of jihad and martyrdom among some members of the extended Muslim family that settled at the compound last winter.

Defense attorneys say their clients have no record of criminal convictions and pose no risk to the public.

Authorities are pushing ahead with other charges against the dead boy’s father, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, and his partner, Jany Leveille.

They were due in court Wednesday on charges of child abuse resulting in death, which could carry life sentences in connection with the death of Abdul-ghani Wahhaj. The severely disabled boy’s badly decomposed remains were found this month inside a tunnel at the high-desert compound near the Colorado state line.

UPDATE: Charges dismissed against all five defendants due to 10-day rule regarding presenting evidence during preliminary hearings. Judge torched the district attorneys office for their incompetence, wonders if the office is overworked.