A New Mexico judge has thrown out charges against three of the five terror suspects, some of whom were also facing child abuse charges that also carried a life sentence. The reason for the charges being tossed is because the prosecution reportedly blew past the 10-day rule, the period in which the state needed to present to the court why these people were risks to the public (via Fox News): A New Mexico judge dismissed all charges against three suspects tied to a compound where alleged Muslim extremists reportedly trained children to be school shooters. District Judge Emilio Chavez on Wednesday dismissed charges against three of the five defendants, ruling that authorities violated the state’s “10-day rule.” Child abuse charges against Lucas Morton, Subhannah Wahhaj and Hujrah Wahhaj were dropped because prosecutors missed the 10-day limit for an evidentiary hearing to establish probable cause. During a separate hearing, Judge Jeff McElroy separately dismissed some of the charges against fellow defendants, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj and Jany Leveille. All five were arrested earlier this month when their compound was raided by authorities. Eleven children were also found on the property. The conditions were reportedly awful. These kids were being trained to commit mass shootings, targeting schools and hospitals. It’s a terror camp. Most of them were also granted release on bail. If the $20,000 bond threshold seemed low, it’s because the judge, Sarah Backus, has a history of setting low bail for violent offenders. The remains of a three-year-old child named Abdul-ghani Wahhaj were also found, he was reportedly the son of ringleader Siraj Ibn Wahhaj. Siraj’s father, same name, is an unindicted co-conspirator of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. He’s also being held over a warrant from Georgia; he allegedly kidnapped his son to perform an exorcism. The investigation into the child’s disappearance led investigators to his compound. He’s also been hit with child abuse resulting in death of a child charges. The Associated Press reported that prosecutors are looking at other ways to ensure all five are charged: Judge Emilio Chavez ruled that he could not keep the three in custody because prosecutors missed a 10-day deadline for a court hearing to establish probable cause for the neglect charges. Prosecutors have other options for pursuing charges against the three — Lucas Morton, Subhannah Wahhaj and Hujrah Wahhaj. That could include refiling the charges or asking a grand jury to indict them. Prosecutors had pressed to keep them behind bars and planned to present new evidence of an anti-government plot and talk of jihad and martyrdom among some members of the extended Muslim family that settled at the compound last winter. Defense attorneys say their clients have no record of criminal convictions and pose no risk to the public. Authorities are pushing ahead with other charges against the dead boy’s father, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, and his partner, Jany Leveille. They were due in court Wednesday on charges of child abuse resulting in death, which could carry life sentences in connection with the death of Abdul-ghani Wahhaj. The severely disabled boy’s badly decomposed remains were found this month inside a tunnel at the high-desert compound near the Colorado state line. UPDATE: Charges dismissed against all five defendants due to 10-day rule regarding presenting evidence during preliminary hearings. Judge torched the district attorneys office for their incompetence, wonders if the office is overworked. #Breaking: Judge dismisses all charges against Lucas Morton, Subhannah Wahhaj and Hujrah Wahhaj. Three of five suspects in #TaosCompound case. — Ryan Laughlin (@RyanLaughlinKOB) August 29, 2018 He says this order for dismissal will be filed at 2pm after 1pm appeal of no-bond decision. Judge notes that state can re-file charges based on new information at a later time, but he does not have much choice to dismiss charges today, citing violating the 10 day rule. — Ryan Laughlin (@RyanLaughlinKOB) August 29, 2018 Back in court, as I understand, motion will be heard to dismiss charges against Siraj Wahhaj and Jany Leveille. These two are charged with child abuse resulting in death of Abdul-Ghani (Wahhaj’s son) who was found buried on the #TaosCompound. — Ryan Laughlin (@RyanLaughlinKOB) August 29, 2018 All rise. New judge and Siraj and Jany are in the courtroom. — Ryan Laughlin (@RyanLaughlinKOB) August 29, 2018 Judge starts by saying he has vacated other three no-bond appeals because they have been dismissed. That was Morton and Wahhaj sisters. — Ryan Laughlin (@RyanLaughlinKOB) August 29, 2018 Woa. Judge Backus has recused herself which is why Judge McElroy will be hearing these motions. — Ryan Laughlin (@RyanLaughlinKOB) August 29, 2018 I don’t know, but, Judge Backus’ recusal is probably not because of death threats and more likely because she was the judge who ruled on denying the no-bond motion in the first place. Just speculating. — Ryan Laughlin (@RyanLaughlinKOB) August 29, 2018 Defense for Siraj is up and making the same arguments. Siraj does have an extradition warrant from Georgia. His defense is saying that doesn’t matter, he’s still entitled to preliminary hearing in 10 days. — Ryan Laughlin (@RyanLaughlinKOB) August 29, 2018 Interesting caveat, the more severe charges were brought against Siraj and Jany were more recent. Meaning, the 10 day limit would be ending in September. Defense says that shouldn’t matter. — Ryan Laughlin (@RyanLaughlinKOB) August 29, 2018 Again, prosecutors didn’t know if they’d be on, “a 10 day track, or a 60 day track.” Reminder, if suspects are not in custody prosecutors have 60 days for preliminary hearing. State thought suspects were getting out. They couldn’t meet terms of release and have been in custody. — Ryan Laughlin (@RyanLaughlinKOB) August 29, 2018 Prosecutor says it wasn’t the state of New Mexico holding these two. Siraj’s GA warrant and ICE was holding Jany kept them in custody. Question here is when did the 10-day clock start ticking? That’s what state and defense are arguing now. — Ryan Laughlin (@RyanLaughlinKOB) August 29, 2018 Judge is up. He says these two cases are different, however it doesnt change the 10 day rule for a preliminary hearing. — Ryan Laughlin (@RyanLaughlinKOB) August 29, 2018<doc-sep>Judge Emilio Chavez said that he had no choice but to release the three defendants, Lucas Morton, Hujrah Wahhaj and Subhannah A. Wahhaj, because the office of District Attorney Donald Gallegos failed to schedule a court hearing to prove they had probable cause for their arrest within 10 days, as state rules stipulate, according to court representatives and defense lawyers. Another judge later ordered the dropping of charges against the other two defendants, Siraj Wahhaj and Jany Leveille, according to Ryan Laughlin, a reporter for the local television station KOB, but the status of their potential release is less clear as they were immediately charged again with more severe offenses: child abuse resulting in death.<doc-sep>Judge Emilio Chavez in New Mexico on Wednesday dismissed child neglect charges for three of the five adults arrested at a remote compound where a dead boy and 11 other children living in filth were discovered by authorities. Chavez said he could not keep alleged Islamic extremists Lucas Morton, Subhannah Wahhaj and Hujrah Wahha in custody because prosecutors missed a 10-day limit for an evidentiary hearing to establish probable cause, The Associated Press reports. The three could be released as soon as Wednesday afternoon, depending on how prosecutors respond. ADVERTISEMENT Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, the dead boy's father, and Jany Leveille, his partner, are still facing charges of child abuse resulting in death. The AP reports that prosecutors could still pursue charges for the other three if they ask a grand jury to indict them, but that the prosecution offered no sign of what they would do. The prosecution had pressed for all five to remain incarcerated, planning to present fresh evidence of an antigovernment plot alongside discussions of jihad and martyrdom. CNN reported Monday that court documents presented by the prosecution alleged that one of the suspects, Leveille, “intended to confront ‘corrupt’ institutions or individuals, such as the military, big businesses, CIA, teachers/schools and reveal the 'truth' to these corrupt institutions or individuals.” If her efforts came to nothing, she would signal Wahhaj to “shoot or otherwise attack the non-believer.” The documents also showed that two of the 11 starving children found in the compound told an FBI agent that they had been trained in “advance firearms handling” and had been told “they would be instructed in the future to attack specific targets such as teachers, schools, banks and other 'corrupt institutions.'"<doc-sep>TAOS, N.M. — The father of a 3-year-old boy found dead in a filthy New Mexico compound and his partner pleaded not guilty Wednesday to new charges of child abuse resulting in death after lesser charges were dismissed against them and other members of their extended family as the result of a deadline missed by prosecutors. The dead boy's father, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, and his partner Jany Leveille remained silent as pleas were entered by a judge on their behalf. The charges could carry life sentences in the death of Abdul-ghani Wahhaj. Their pleas came after a judge dismissed child neglect charges filed against them earlier this month. Another judge made the same decision involving three other defendants earlier Wednesday. The five were arrested at a remote desert compound where 11 children were found living in filth. A subsequent search led to the discovery of the dead 3-year-old boy. Authorities say Wahhaj and Leveille denied the boy proper medicine and health care before he died in December 2017 during a religious ritual aimed at casting out demonic spirits. The exact cause and manner of death has not been determined. Prosecutors had pressed to keep all five behind bars and planned to present new evidence of an anti-government plot and talk of jihad and martyrdom among some members of the extended Muslim family. Defense attorneys say their clients have no record of criminal convictions and pose no risk to the public. Federal immigration authorities say Leveille, a native of Haiti, has been in the United States unlawfully for 20 years after overstaying a visitor visa. Siraj Ibn Wahhaj and Leveille will remain jailed at least until a hearing next week. #BREAKING Defense attorney confirms Lucas Morton, Subhannah Wahhaj and Hujrah Wahhaj have been released from jail. No word on whereabouts. Only that they are safe. Subhannah and Lucas must stay in Taos County, Hujrah does not. — Ryan Laughlin (@RyanLaughlinKOB) August 29, 2018 In the case of the other three defendants, a judge ruled they could be released as early as Wednesday depending on what action prosecutors take. Prosecutor John Lovelace declined to comment on how the district attorney’s office will proceed. Prosecutors have other options for pursuing charges against the three, including seeking indictments from a grand jury. Prosecutors said in court filings they discovered a hand-written document called “Phases of a Terrorist Attack” that was seized from the compound and includes vague instructions for “the one-time terrorist” and mentioned an unnamed place called “the ideal attack site.” Prosecutors wrote in court filings that new interviews with some of the children removed from the compound revealed that one of the adults, Lucas Morton, stated he wished to die in jihad as a martyr and that Leveille and Subhannah Wahhaj joked about dying in jihad. Morton, as well as Subhannah and Hujrah Wahhaj, had their charges dismissed Wednesday. The upgraded charges of child abuse resulting in death against Siraj Ibn Wahhaj and Leveille are tied to an extensive account of Abdul-ghani’s death in a journal that prosecutors attribute to Leveille. Thomas Clark, the attorney for Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, said court filings against his client have unfairly delved into accusations unrelated to charges of child abuse or neglect. "It’s ancillary, inflammatory information that has no bearing on whether or not my client either intentionally or recklessly allowed this child to die from lack of medication," Clark said. In court filings submitted Wednesday immediately before the hearings, Taos-based District Attorney Donald Gallegos renewed accusations that Wahhaj and Leveille represented a danger to the public and requested they be jailed without bail pending trial. The filings describe the couple’s involvement in "bizarre cult practices" and described evidence that compound residents were conducting firearms training “to conduct future acts of violence against individuals and civic institutions.” A remote outpost near Amalia, N.M on Aug. 9, 2018. Three siblings and two other adults have been charged with child abuse stemming from the alleged neglect of 11 children found living on the compound. Karl Brennan / AP Judge Jeff McElroy took the unusual step of urging the general public to wait for the court to vet accusations from law enforcement and prosecutors before reacting, saying he was disturbed by threats of violence against another state judge who previously agreed to release the five defendants on house arrest. "I urge everyone not to react to solely the information contained within the warrants that were filed but rather to the evidence as it gets developed in this case," he said. The boy’s mother initially reported him missing last year from Jonesboro, Georgia, after Siraj Ibn Wahhaj said he was taking the child to a park and didn’t return. Forensic medical investigators have not yet identified the cause and manner of the boy’s death.<doc-sep>
A district judge dismissed charges against three of five defendants connected to a New Mexico compound where, according to court documents, officials say Muslim extremists trained children to carry out school shootings. District Judge Emilio Chavez ruled authorities violated New Mexico’s "10-day rule," a 10-day limit for a hearing to establish probable cause. Chavez dropped child abuse charges against Lucas Morton, Subhannah Wahhaj, and Hujrah Wahhaj, and a separate judge dropped similar charges against Siraj Ibn Wahhaj and Jany Leveille. Charges against Siraj Ibn Wahhaj and Leveille in connection with the death of a previously missing three-year-old boy remain, Fox News reports. The suspects were arrested earlier this month during a raid of a New Mexico compound following an investigation into the disappearance of Abdul-ghani Wahhaj, a three-year-old who had been missing since December. Law enforcement officials found 11 children at the compound, ranging in age from one to 15, as well as the remains of a child. The remains were later identified as belonging to the three-year-old Wahhaj. The boy suffered from brain problems associated with hypoxic Ischemic encephalopathy, a condition characterized by acute or subacute brain injury resulting from a lack of oxygen to the brain. Siraj Ibn Wahhaj had been wanted by Georgia officials since December after he took his son in order to perform an "exorcism," according to the boy’s mother, Hakima Ramzi. Prosecutors claim Wahhaj and his partner, Leveille, denied the boy medicine and health care, saying he died during exorcist rituals. Officials allege Wahhaj also trained children to commit school shootings, teaching them how to use firearms and tactics for killing teachers and police. Law enforcement seized a document from the compound called "Phases of a Terrorist Attack," which included ambiguous instructions for "the one-time terrorist" and "the ideal attack site." Prosecutors say interviews with children found at the compound revealed several of those arrested talked about dying in jihad. Prosecutors could still try to charge Morton, Subhannah, and Hujrah via a grand jury indictment, but it is unclear if they will pursue that option.