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| Arlington woman pleads guilty to federal charges after 3 pipe bombs found in truck | ||||||||
| 2010-06-17 | ||||||||
| A 45-year-old Arlington woman who has had past run-ins with counterterrorism agents has pleaded guilty to federal charges after police found three pipe bombs in a pickup she was driving. Kimberly Al-Homsi and Yasinul Ansari, her 18-year-old accomplice, both entered pleas before U.S. District Judge John McBryde in Fort Worth. They admitted to one count each of possession of an unregistered firearm, in this case homemade pipe bombs found in the truck in February.
Plea papers filed after a Friday court hearing offer no clues as to why Al-Homsi and Ansari, one of her son's friends, spent early February buying pipes and gunpowder at Arlington hardware and sporting goods stores and assembling bombs in her apartment bedroom.
Police found a toy gun inside, in addition to three pipe bombs in a bag.
When authorities searched the apartment at Hunters Point apartments on Ruger Drive in Arlington, they found week-old receipts from Pep Boys auto parts store and Academy Sports and Outdoors. Al-Homsi's history of provocative behavior has attracted the attention of not only local media, but also police and federal counterterrorism agents. She first made headlines days before Christmas in 2005 when she waved a fake grenade at a motorist on Central Expressway in Dallas. She was charged with a bomb hoax and received probation.
Two days later, they were at the airport again. Al-Homsi was sitting on the hood of a car looking through binoculars at airplanes. The women refused to let police search their car, authorities say. On July 4, 2007, the pair was questioned after reportedly driving near the runways at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. About two weeks later, Al-Homsi called 911 to report that Hamad was threatening her with a knife. After a six-hour standoff, Arlington police arrested Hamad but also jailed Al-Homsi for possession of a homemade gun, black powder, shotgun shells and putty. In interviews with reporters, Al-Homsi has claimed to have dual American and Syrian citizenship, as well as overseas weapons training.
Authorities say she has no terrorist ties.
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| Dallas Muslim Women Arrested After Police Standoff |
| 2007-07-18 |
| Another from Little Green Footballs. Kimberly Al-Homsi called 911 about 12:40 a.m. Monday. She said her friend, Aisha Hamad, had threatened her with a knife. The two are noteworthy because a few months ago, they were seen at Dallas Love Field, both dressed in camouflage pants under traditional Muslim robes, conducting what appeared to be surveillance, officials said. Police say that Monday morning, when an officer came to the door, Ms. Hamad threatened to shoot him. She told him the only way she would leave was in a body bag. So began the standoff, during which she fired a paintball gun at a tactical robot and missed, police say, and at the end of which a negotiator persuaded her to come out peacefully. Once outside, Ms. Hamad, 50, fought with them while they tried to handcuff her, police say, so they used a Taser on her. Police took Ms. Hamad to a hospital, where she was to undergo a mental evaluation. She is likely to face assault charges, Arlington police spokeswoman Christy Gilfour said. Meanwhile, police searched the home on Wembley Road and found four explosive devices, one of which was sitting on a bedroom table. Citing an ongoing investigation, Arlington Assistant Fire Marshal Stephen Lea would not say what the devices were. We do not know whether they would function as [explosive] devices until we have time to study them and look at them and test the materials, Mr. Lea said. I can tell you this; there wasnt anything in there that would have blown her house to pieces. The terrorism angle stems from Feb. 25, when the two women were spotted at Love Field acting in a way authorities found suspicious. Surveillance video showed one of them walking back and forth, apparently pacing off distances. When confronted, the women told officials they were looking for the Frontiers of Flight museum. Two days later, the pair was spotted at the airport again. This time Ms. Al-Homsi, 42, was sitting on the hood of a car looking through binoculars at airplanes. Dallas officers stopped the car nearby, but the women refused to let police search it, authorities say. The women also came under scrutiny after they were reported driving near the runways at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on July 4. |
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