Abdullatif Aldosary -- the Iraqi refugee accused of detonating an "explosive device" outside the Social Security Administration building in Casa Grande in November -- was indicted yesterday on charges including murder, in a case apparently unrelated to the bombing.
New Times first reported in May that Aldosary was suspected of killing a man days before the bombing, although neither police nor the County Attorney's Office would verify it, until Monday.
See also:
-Abdullatif Aldosary, Alleged Casa Grande Bomber, Now a Murder Suspect?
-Why Did Paul Gosar Do Nothing About "Known Terrorist" in District?
Orlando Requena, 26, was working the overnight shift at Arizona Grain in Maricopa on November 27 when a man in a ski mask approached him about 2:30 a.m. and shot him dead.
No arrest was made, and police in Maricopa were seeking the public's help in solving the murder.
A week later, authorities raided the Coolidge home of Aldosary and arrested him for allegedly detonating an explosive device outside the Casa Grande Social Security Administration office a few days earlier, on November 30. No one was injured in the explosion, but debris landed more than 100 feet away from the spot of the detonation, and Aldosary even lit his own car on fire in the blast and drove off with his car ablaze, according to the federal complaint.
There was never any indication that the two events were related until we got word from the source. The source added that Aldosary had a temporary job at Arizona Grain.
According to media reports, Pinal County Attorney Lando Voyles didn't discuss any details about the murder yesterday.
And, it's still unclear whether the murder is related to the bombing in some way.
Although the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force investigated the bombing of a federal building, there has been no indication from the feds that the bombing was an act of terrorism.
However, the types of people who believe that all acts of violence committed by brown people with Middle Eastern-sounding names are acts of terrorism were claiming -- without evidence, of course -- that it was an act of terrorism.
Republican Congressman Paul Gosar has referred to Aldosary as a "known terrorist," and asked federal officials why a "known terrorist" was allowed to live in his district -- all this despite the fact that Gosar's staff attempted to help Aldosary obtain a green card the year prior.
Aldosary was not actually a "known terrorist," but his application had been denied because, according to legislation passed by Congress, Aldosary had "engaged in terrorism activity."
Aldosary's "terrorism activity" was his involvement in a 1991 uprising against the regime of Saddam Hussein, which was egged on by the U.S. government under President George H.W. Bush.
The Department of Homeland Security just recently created an exemption under that immigration law for Iraqis who participated in those uprisings over a one-month period, and a government source told New Times in the weeks after the bombing that Aldosary met this exemption, and his green-card case was re-opened.
Aldosary certainly has an odd history, but none of it seems to be related to terrorism.
Aldosary did a few months in prison several years ago in a harassment case.
According to a minute entry from the court proceedings, Aldosary sent letters to the construction company and its employees -- despite an existing restraining order against him -- and two of those letters "were accompanied by sexually explicit photographs."
The owner of the company believed Aldosary "perhaps had ties to terrorist organizations," although a judge noted that he wasn't charged with any such conduct.
In August, Aldosary was arrested at a gym in Casa Grande. Aldosary allegedly "displayed pornographic pictures and struck a man," according to a blurb published in the Casa Grande Dispatch at the time, although police refused to elaborate on the details of that incident after the bombing.
Now, Aldosary has a lot of court dates ahead. A grand jury in Pinal County indicted him last week on 14 counts of attempted murder, one count of arson of an occupied structure, one count of depositing explosives, and two counts of criminal damage.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Attorney's Office dropped a couple charges against Aldosary related to the bombing, knowing that this indictment was coming. Federal weapons charges -- stemming from a warrant served at Aldosary's home after the bombing -- remain.
In addition to all of that, a grand jury in Pinal County has since indicted Aldosary on four more counts, including first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and two counts of misconduct involving weapons, in the murder of Requena.
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