• Facebook
  • Google Plus
  • Instagram
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter

Menu

Skip to content
  • About
  • Staff
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • FAQ
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
Header image

MyNewsLA.comLogo

Breaking news for greater Los Angeles and Orange County

Menu

Skip to content
  • Crime
  • Government
  • Business
  • Education
  • Sports
  • Hollywood
  • Life
  • OC
  • Search and Rescue Volunteers Search Mount Baldy for Missing Irvine Hiker
  • Fire Chief Lifts Burn Ban Countywide
  • Christmas Shopping Trip to Reward Troubled Teens for Staying in School
  • Teacher's Aide Who Molested Girls to be Sentenced
  • California Horse Racing Board Calls for New Whip Rule

Home » Crime » This Article

Ex-Jihadist Who Lives in L.A. Sentenced to Nine Months in Immigration Case

Posted by Contributing Editor on April 26, 2019 in Crime | 94 Views | Leave a response
Share this article:
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

A Los Angeles valet parking attendant who spent time in an Israeli prison for attempting to blow up a bus was sentenced Friday to nine months behind bars for illegally obtaining American citizenship by deliberately withholding his criminal record and past terrorist associations.

Vallmoe Shqaire, 51, was given until May 28 to surrender to begin serving his time, but U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services may take him into custody at any time based on the fact that his citizenship was revoked and he is under an immigration hold for deportation, attorneys said at the sentencing hearing in Los Angeles federal court.

U.S. District Judge John F. Walter made clear that he would prefer that Shqaire — who is free on bond — be allowed to self-surrender to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons on the appointed date. Walter said that as part of his plea deal, the defendant agreed to a judicial removal order and will not contest deportation to his native Jordan.

Although immigration agents attended the hearing, Shqaire left the courthouse accompanied by a friend without being detained.

Shqaire remained in the United States for nearly a decade after federal officials uncovered his criminal history, a fact that plainly irked the judge, who questioned why the mistake was not remedied earlier.

Prosecutors said Shqaire first entered the United States on a visitors visa in 1999 and managed to have his citizenship application approved in November 2008. He pleaded guilty in January to illegally obtaining U.S. citizenship.

Shqaire’s attorney, Mark Werksman, told the court that his client is not a danger to anyone and has not engaged in any political activities since coming to the United States.

Like this story? Don’t miss any breaking news from MyNewsLA.com. Sign up here for your free newsletter.

 

“He was glad to come here for peace and prosperity … to escape the turmoil and craziness of the Middle East,” Werksman said. “He’s the opposite of a flight risk — he would camp out in this courtroom if he could.”

The Palestinian-born Jordanian was trained by a cell of the Palestinian Liberation Organization in bomb-making and the use of rifles and grenades, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

In 1988, Shqaire and an accomplice used a pipe bomb to try and blow up the public bus, but no one was injured in the roadside explosion, according to prosecutors. Shqaire was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in a military prison in 1991, but was released from Israeli custody after four years, documents show.

“By concealing his violent, terrorist conduct, defendant circumvented the procedures our immigration system depends upon,” federal prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

Shqaire apologized to the court for lying to immigration officials

“I’m very, very sorry for what I did,” he said. “I love this country and want to stay here.”

Ex-Jihadist Who Lives in L.A. Sentenced to Nine Months in Immigration Case was last modified: April 26th, 2019 by Contributing Editor

>> Want to read more stories like this? Get our Free Daily Newsletters Here!

Follow us:
Facebooktwitterrss
Posted in Crime | Tagged case, Ex-Jihadist, Immigration, L.A., Lives', months, nine, sentenced

Related Posts

Missing imageTeacher’s Aide Who Molested Girls to be Sentenced→

California State PrisonInmate From L.A. County Attacked, Killed in Sacramento Prison→

Missing imageMan Who Killed Stepdad Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison→

Missing imageTeacher’s Aide Who Molested Girls to be Sentenced→

News from idealmedia.com

Advertisement

Get The Latest News by Email!

Sign up here for our free newsletters. We’ll send you the latest headlines every morning and every weekday afternoon.

 
FORECAST FOR LOS ANGELES
56°
Sunny
Feels like: 56°F
Wind: 0mph S
Humidity: 78%
Pressure: 30.14"Hg
UV index: 0
FriSatSun
71/56°F
64/51°F
64/45°F
Weather forecast Los Angeles, California ▸

Most Popular Today

  • Man Fatally Shot in El Monte 1,000 views
  • Big Rig, Vehicle Collide in Huntington Beach, Injuring 1 Person 900 views
  • Felon Charged with Killing Woman Whose Remains Were Found in MoVal 700 views
  • Man Who Killed Stepdad Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison 700 views
  • Body Found in Pond at Park in Alhambra 700 views

©2019 CalNews Inc.

Menu

  • About
  • Staff
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • FAQ
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service