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Los Angeles: Two Local Men Planned September 11, 2005 Terror Attack
via JihadWatchTwo men recently arrested on suspicion of committing armed robberies in Torrance and Fullerton were Muslim converts who are now suspected of planning a variety of jihad-inspired terror attacks around Los Angeles, including one scheduled for September 11, 2005, KFI NEWS has learned. Gregory Vernon Patterson, 21, and Levar Haney Washington, 25, planned to shoot up a military recruiting station in Santa Monica and at least one other civilian target, a high-ranking federal law enforcement source confirmed recently. âThe intent was to kill everyone at the target, including civilians,â the source said. Both men have been in jail since July 5 when they were arrested by Torrance police, suspected in at least two armed robberies, according to authorities. âThey [detectives] discovered some items during their investigation that led them to contact the FBI, and the FBI has since taken over the investigation,â Torrance police spokesman Lt. Rod Irvine said Monday. âWe do have one of our investigators as part of the joint terrorism task force, and so he is currently working with the FBI,â Irvine said. Both men have been charged with ten counts of robbery and are due back in court August 23rd for a hearing in Torrance Superior Court, according to Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorneys office. A search of Washingtonâs West 27th St. apartment turned up Jihadi literature, military equipment, knives, maps of Southern California, news stories on Muslimsâ efforts to recruit young African American men for the holy war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a target list, according to the source and other news reports. FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said Monday the case was being investigated by the Joint Terrorism Task Force but declined further comment. The federal source continued: Washington and Patterson planned to drive a van to the recruiting station at 2020 Santa Monica Blvd. in the city of Santa Monica and planned to attack the place with rifles while dressed in camouflage clothing and ski masks (the military relocated the recruiting offices from this address in June, 2005). Washington claimed he and Patterson were members of Jamaâat al Islam, and claimed the group was the largest Muslim extremist organization inside California prisons, according to the source and other news reports. Washington was paroled to Orange County on November 11, 2004 after serving part of a six year sentence for second-degree attempted robbery, according to California Dept. of Corrections records. Patterson had recently purchased a rifle and was arrested during the requisite waiting period, a local law enforcement source said Monday. Patterson's lawyer, Winston McKesson, told KFI Monday he has not been provided with any new information from the federal government. "Once the investigation is complete, the evidence will show my client had no involvement in any violent actions against this country," McKesson said. "My son has never done anything wrong," Patterson's mother told the Long Beach Press Telegram last month. "All they told us is he was picked up for robbery and they brought in the FBI because they suspected some terrorism." She said her son had recently converted to Islam. Washington's lawyer Jerome Haig told the Press Telegram: "I don't know anyting about it. All I know is the FBI agents want to talk to my client." Posted by: ed 2005-08-16 |
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