Suspect Arrested Following Incident at Miami National Airport

The FBI announces the arrest of Ryan Snider, 24, of Canada, in connection with an incident on American Airlines flight 320 inbound to Miami International Airport (MIA) today in which Snider allegedly rushed toward the front of the plane after it had landed.

There were no injuries or damage to the plane. There appears to be no nexus to terrorism and Snider was not on the “No-Fly” list.

Snider is in federal custody and is expected to face federal charges, which may include interference with a flight crew. It is anticipated that his initial appearance will be Tuesday in federal court in Miami, Florida.

The FBI, ICE, ATF, FAMS, U.S. Border Patrol, and Miami Dade PD continue their investigation. No further information will be released at this time.

Passenger Convicted of Sexual Assault While on an Airplane Sentenced Today in Federal Court

ATLANTA—RANCHHODBHAI LAKHA, 61, of Alpharetta, Georgia, was sentenced to federal prison today by United States District Judge Richard W. Story on a charge of abusive sexual contact.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “This defendant thought he could get away with taking advantage of a defenseless, sleeping passenger sitting next to him. He was wrong. He will now serve time in a federal prison.”

LAKHA was sentenced to six months in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release, and fined $5,000. He is also required to register as a sex offender. LAKHA pleaded guilty to the charge on June 29, 2011.

According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges, and other information presented in court: On September 28, 2010, on a Delta flight from Dallas to Atlanta, a 20-year-old woman seated in the same row with LAKHA fell asleep and woke up to discover LAKHA, a former hotel owner, touching her below the waist. She quickly removed his hand and told him not to do that. LAKHA responded by asking the victim, “Is that okay—you don’t like that?” The woman responded no and recoiled her body to protect herself. At that point LAKHA reached down and touched her again. The woman got up from her seat and immediately reported the assault to a Delta flight attendant.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Atlanta Police Department and the Federal Air Marshals.

Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph Plummer, Katherine Hoffer and Suzette Smikle prosecuted the case.

For further information, please contact Sally Q. Yates, United States Attorney, or Charysse L. Alexander, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Attorney’s Office, at (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is justice.gov/usao/gan.

Federal Charges Filed Against Woman Who Made False Bomb Threat to Airline on 9/11

LAS VEGAS—A local woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury for intentionally conveying false and misleading information to U.S. Airways on September 11, 2010, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

Miki Victoria Sudo, 25, of Las Vegas, is charged with one count of conveying false information under such circumstances where the information may reasonably have been believed. Sudo surrendered to federal authorities in Las Vegas this morning, and is scheduled to make an initial appearance in court before United States Magistrate Judge Robert J. Johnston at 3:00 p.m. today. Sudo is charged under a relatively new federal law which went into effect in December 2004. If convicted, Sudo faces five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Sudo allegedly called U.S. Airways on September 11, 2010, and intentionally conveyed false and misleading information that her boyfriend, a passenger on Flight 399 from Las Vegas to Phoenix, was going to “blow up the plane.” Approximately 10 minutes after Flight 399 departed McCarran Airport in Las Vegas, the pilot reported mechanical issues and the plane began returning to the airport. As the plane was returning, the pilot received information about the bomb threat. The plane landed at McCarran, and because of the bomb threat, it was diverted to a secure area where all of the passengers were made to deplane and undergo screening. The checked baggage was also emptied from the plane and checked to ensure that no explosives were on board.

The case is being investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and the Federal Air Marshal Service, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Gregory Damm.

An indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Federal Officials Close the Investigation Involving Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Officers

WASHINGTON—The Justice Department announced today that it will not pursue criminal charges against three Pittsburgh Bureau of Police officers in connection with the events of Jan. 12, 2010, involving former Pittsburgh School for the Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) student Jordan Miles.

Officials from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the FBI met today with Jordan Miles and his family to inform them of the decision.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Civil Rights Division, and the FBI, working together, conducted an exhaustive review of the incident, which included interviews of more than 40 witnesses, some on multiple occasions; visits to the scene; and careful review of all police reports, medical records, photographs, laboratory reports, cell phone records, and other documentation related to the incident. After thorough review of all of the evidence, experienced federal officials concluded that there was insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt a violation of the applicable federal criminal civil rights statutes.

Under the applicable federal criminal civil rights laws, prosecutors must establish, beyond a reasonable doubt, that a law enforcement officer willfully deprived an individual of a constitutional right. Proving “willfulness” is a heavy burden, and means that it must be proven that the officer acted with the deliberate and specific intent to do something the law forbids. To act “willfully,” for purposes of the federal statute, means to act with a bad purpose to disobey or disregard the law. Neither negligence, accident, mistake, fear, nor bad judgment is sufficient to establish such a criminal violation. After a lengthy, independent, and thorough review consuming hundreds of hours of agent and prosecutor time, federal officials determined that the evidence was insufficient to prove a federal civil rights violation, beyond a reasonable doubt, against any of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police officers.

The Justice Department is committed to investigating allegations of excessive force by law enforcement officers and will continue to devote the resources necessary to ensure that all allegations of serious civil rights violations are fully and completely investigated.

Hate Crimes: 50 Years After the Freedom Rides

A Conference on Law Enforcement and Civil Rights, May 15-16, 2011

BIRMINGHAM, AL—The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Birmingham Division, will sponsor a conference, Hate Crimes: 50 Years After the Freedom Rides, on Sunday and Monday, May 15-16, 2011 at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, 520 Sixteenth Street North.

On Sunday, May 15, at 4:00 p.m., the public is invited to a program that will include reflections on the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Rides, discussion of recent hate crime laws, and a tour of BCRI. The tour will include the photography exhibit Courage Under Fire: The 1961 Burning of the Freedom Riders Bus by Joseph Postiglione, which captures images of the attack on freedom riders outside Anniston, Alabama.

The conference continues on Monday, May 16, with training sessions for community leaders from 8:00 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. The training is free but registration is required. The objective is to create open, honest dialogue between law enforcement officials and the community, to learn what a hate crime is and how to report it, and to identify community resources that combat hate.

“The choice of this topic is timely because it connects historic events and contemporary concerns,” said Priscilla Hancock Cooper, BCRI vice-president of institutional programs. “May 2011 marks the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Rides, one of history’s most blatant examples of how hatred can escalate into violence.”

FBI Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Patrick J. Maley noted, “Despite the fact that hate crimes have existed throughout the history of the United States, laws addressing hate crimes are relatively new,” specifically the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. SAC Maley said that the recent law resulted from two “triggering events,” which resulted in the brutal killing of two men for which the law is named. Robert Byrd, Jr., a 49-year-old black man, was dragged behind a pick-up truck by three white male members of a white supremacist group in Jasper, Texas. Matthew Shepard was assaulted outside a known gay establishment by two strangers who kidnapped, pistol-whipped, and tied him to a fence in Wyoming.

The Shepard/Byrd Act extends protection to individuals who may be attacked because of national origin, gender/gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability, as well as religion and race. These crimes take many forms including:

■A cross is burned in someone’s yard or a noose is hung on a door handle.

■Someone is bullied and beaten because they “looked Middle Eastern.”

■A young man is killed because of his sexual orientation.

■A mentally challenged woman is kidnapped and tortured for days and then killed by a group of people pretending to be her good friends—and the stories continue.

For registration information, please e-mail spugh@bcri.org or call 328-9696 x246 or x233.

For media information, contact:

Paul Daymond, Federal Bureau of Investigation, paul.daymond@ic.fbi.gov or (205) 279-1457

Priscilla Hancock Cooper, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, pcooper@bcri.org or 205-328-9696 x233.

Somerville Man Charged with Impersonating a Federal Air Marshal

BOSTON—A Somerville man was charged today in federal court with impersonating a federal air marshal.

EDWARD VELOZA, a/k/a EDGAR VELOZA, 37, of Somerville, was charged in an indictment with falsely impersonating a federal officer. The indictment alleges that on March 16, 2011, VELOZA falsely pretended to be, and impersonated, a federal air marshal.

If convicted on these charges, VELOZA faces up to three years’ imprisonment, to be followed by one year of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Division; and Colonel Marian McGovern, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric P. Christofferson of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.