New Mexico: Judge Releases 5 Suspects From Muslim Extremist Compound Who Were Allegedly Training Children for School Shootings
Released against the wishes of the Taos County sheriff, undersheriff, prosecutors and the FBI
Against the wishes of the Taos County sheriff, undersheriff, prosecutors and the FBI, Judge Sarah Backus ordered all five suspects arrested in the raid of the New Mexico compound, released.
Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, 40, Lucas Morton, 40, Jany Leveille, 35, Hujrah Wahhaj, 37, and Subhannah Wahhaj, 35 were arrested on child abuse charges. The eleven children in the compound were taken into state custody. All were substantially malnourished, kept in rags, and had no access to clean water.
According to CBS News, Wahhaj, “Wahhaj is the son of a Brooklyn imam who was a possible co-conspirator in the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993 — but was never charged.”
According to ABC News, the suspects were “released on $20,000 bond each on Monday evening and ordered them to wear ankle monitors until trial, the Taos County Sheriff’s Office announced.”
Police discovered the decrepit compound, located near the Colorado state line, while searching for Wahhaj’s 4-year-old son, Abdul, but he was not there. His mother reported him missing late last year and claimed his father kidnapped him.
Investigators found the malnourished children, ages 1 to 15, barefoot and wearing “rags for clothing,” according to a complaint. Authorities recovered the buried remains of a young boy during a subsequent search of the compound on Aug. 9.
For our previous coverage of this story, see here.
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Comments
Had to be a Democrat judge, after all, it’s all for the children… right?
I read somewhere that she’s got a record of letting most violent offenders out with low to no bail.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/08/14/new-mexico-compound-judge-has-history-issuing-low-bond-to-violent-offenders.html
Do they show up in court? Which is what counts.
with CAIR
ya betta b’lieve it
From the article linked by DMacleo:
According to the New Mexico Courts website, Backus was first appointed to the bench in June 2011 by Republican Gov. Susana Martinez. She was elected to the post in 2012 and is expected to remain there until at least 2020.
Prior to her appointment to the bench, Backus – a graduate of the University of California Hastings College of the Law – served as a deputy public defender and deputy Attorney General in San Francisco. She’s lived in Taos since 1994.
Martinez issued a statement after Monday’s hearing saying she “strongly disagreed” with the outcome and Backus’ decision.
“UNFORTUNATELY, IT HIGHLIGHTS HOW EXTREME THE NEW MEXICO SUPREME COURT HAS BEEN IN DICTATING PRETRIAL RELEASE FOR ALL KINDS OF DANGEROUS CRIMINALS,” she said.
Then why have the New Mexican Supreme Court justices NOT BEEN IMPEACHED, TRIED, AND CONVICTED?!?! IS THE NEW MEXICAN CONSTITUTION A SUICIDE PACT? IF SO, WE HAVE A NATURAL RIGHT TO REVOLT AGAINST IT.
This seems to indicate we should be looking at where the SCONM judges came from
The violence of the alleged offense should not have any effect on the bail. The only purpose of bail is to ensure the person shows up. If there’s no real concern they won’t, then they’re entitled to be released no matter what they’re charged with.
Unfortunately the media, including Foxnews has gone all National Enquirer over this story. Judge Backus had very little choice. A constitutional amendment passed in 2016 (by the same voters squealing the loudest) makes it extremely difficult to hold someone in pretrial detention. The prosecution has to show clear and convincing evidence that they are so dangerous to the community that keeping them in jail is the only way to keep Taos county safe. The prosecution didn’t have that evidence.
Here’s a link to her order:https://www.kob.com/kobtvimages/repository/cs/files/-Order-denying-motion-to-detain-Taos-compound-defendants-without-bail.pdf
The 8th judicial district put up their evidence on facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/1383320265133543/photos/pcb.1389082571223979/1389079667890936/?type=3&theater
I don’t fault Backus for her ruling. The DA’s office had a lot of allegations and a lot of suspicions but not a lot of actual evidence of danger to the community. That hasn’t stopped the idiots from calling in death threats to the county complex.
According to at least FBN, she’s originally from San Francisco. Figures.
I believe Wahhaj is still in custody, awaiting extradition to Georgia, where he is wanted for taking the child who died away from his mother.
She’s a hard left judge. Check her background. IMO, these guys are in the wind. P.S. Haven’t seen anything from Georgia, they never dreamed the bad guy would walk!
Deport, deport, deport !!!!! ABJ
Deport to the middle of the ocean, hopefully where there are sharks, let nature take care of these scum bags.
Deport Siraj Wahhaj? Unfortunately, he’s from Brooklyn, NY. His father was originally a NOI sort of Muslim who became a Sunnite after Elijah Muhammad died.
https://www.taosnews.com/stories/judge-threatened-following-decision-to-release-amalia-defendants-courts-issue-statement,51071
bet these people don’t get off as easy if caught.
Taos is Sedona east.
What could possibly go wrong?
I’m sure there are good people on both sides.
Did I say something bad?
I can see no way in which this goes wrong. None at all.
The same judge would likely throw you in jail without bail for spanking your own child.
I have read in other places that the $20,000 only kicks in if they violate the terms of their release. As of now, they are out on their own recognizance. Judge doesn’t think they are a flight risk.
This should have read “judge doesn’t think”.
Time for judges to be held directly responsible for releasing violent criminals who commit crimes after their release.
Children starving in rags, dead body wrapped in plastic, teenager claims he was trained as a school shooter. Judge says: ‘Take off losers’.
Charged with tax evasion and loan fraud. Judge says: ‘Solitary confinement for you, Mr. Manafort.’
Our judicial system teaches us new things every day.
Wrong. Manafort was given bail, until he was caught tampering with witnesses. If these people do that they’ll lose their bail too. But there’s no reason to suppose they will.
Bail is not a privilege; it is a constitutional right, and may not be denied merely because the judge disapproves of the defendant.
I have mixed feelings about this. The accusations are heinous in this case.
However Bail / Bond is not meant to be a form of punishment, but a tool to secure a defendants presence at trial. The requirement of the ankle monitors is a cash-bond-mitigation factor.
Here’s a good primer on it for Texas policy on the matter.
https://www.bhwlawfirm.com/excessive-bail-punishment-texas/amp/
$20k seems exceptionally lenient considering the crimes they have been accused of committing.
Isn’t there a public safety aspect? I’m not sure what level of proof is required, but a dead body, child abuse — do the children have to return to these people?– would seem to suggest a certain level of danger to the public.
No. The removal action of the Children from the adults is a separate civil matter from the allegation of the criminal child abuse. The children will not be returned to these individuals until there is a finding that they can provide a safe and stable home environment.
The adults are entitled to a hearing where the State (doing the removal) has to show that there is a probable cause that the child remaining in the conditions will be an unacceptable danger, and that nothing short of removal will mitigate that danger.
See the New Mexico Child Welfare Law handbook (this is the 2011 edition):
http://childlaw.unm.edu/docs/2011%20Child%20Welfare%20Handbook%20-%20August%202011-2.pdf
Risk of flight is a factor to be considered. You have accuseds who despise American culture and America. What makes you think they have ANY intention of honoring our processes if they can find a way to evade them?
Big bail is required in this case. It’s very serious, and they are flight risks.
I have dealt with ankle monitor technology. It only notifies the state when a person actually leaves his residence or removes the monitor [sometimes]. It does not forestall escape. If it did, then we would see convicted murders housed in their own homes to save the state money. And, going on the lam under a signature bond does not subject the defendant to any immediate negative result, as the estreature of a cash bond would. In other words, the defendant loses nothing by not appearing in court. He only loses if he is eventually caught after violating the terms of his bond.
In this case, you have people charged with multiple counts of felony child abuse, who exhibited behavior which would lead any reasonable person to believe that they are a danger to the community, if at large. For this reason, their bail should be set very high to keep them confined or to place a strong financial incentive upon them to meet the terms of their release. But, the judge did not even require a cash or surety bond in this case, only a signature bond.
Depends on the Ankle Monitor type being used. I am familiar with a couple of different types. The “Cloth” ones are useless for anybody that is considered a flight risk, because they just can be cut off. The ones that I would expect to be applicable here from a Felony Bond standpoint would be the GPS location accurate type, with the stainless steel construction.
Basically they’re accurate to about 6 feet, they are tracking you 100% of the time, and they’re effectively indestructible. I’ve seen ONE successfully removed, and that took an acetylene torch to cut it off (and resulted in fairly significant injury to the probationer that removed it).
Apparently the fact that there’s an 8th Amendment troubles people….
Bond is about making people post some security to show up. We don’t punish people BEFORE finding them guilty. Now, you show me something that says they can’t be tracked, or there is some risk that they are just going to disappear, I’ll be more than happy to agree that their Bond should be higher.
Absent that, go take it up with the SCOTUS and with the Supreme Court of NM, because they’re the ones who have said (in MANY more words) that a bond that the defendant can’t post is a de facto 8th amendment violation.
“Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, 40, Lucas Morton, 40, Jany Leveille, 35, Hujrah Wahhaj, 37, and Subhannah Wahhaj, 35 were arrested on child abuse charges. The eleven children in the compound were taken into state custody. All were substantially malnourished, kept in rags, and had no access to clean water.”
They were charged with child abuse. Does letting them out of jail imply that they have established that all the children were legally in their care?
That judge should be tried and locked up for about 20 years. I’ve never seen anything like it. She has to be an obamanite.
According to Taos County RE tax records,
[Administrator NOTE: CONTENT REMOVED – Do not post personal contact information in the comment section or you will be banned]
Feel free to drop her a post card with your displeasure, or perhaps some Jehovah’s Witnesses or Solar Panel salesmen….
Please do not dox people, even this judge. That is a leftist tactic
CONTENT REMOVED – Do not post personal contact information in the comment section or you will be banned
Apparently, i are banned
Professor Jacobson, I’ve never violated one of your requests and I won’t start now
What about my own personal information? is that prohibited as well?
I’ve sent several emails with no response in the last 6 months, usually of automobile bumper stickers you might find amusing
If you mean to ban me without warning (yes you warned, but I appear to be banned) say so-don’t say “if…” There were no further transgretions after you warned…..
You are NOT banned. My comment was that if you posted private home information of the Judge (or anyone) again, you would be.
Well check your control panel, because rduke007 can’t post
Why would the judge let a good gun tragedy go to waste? The left has never been interested in prevention, only confiscation.