Oct 26, 2006 9:41 am US/Central
Man Linked To Sears Tower Plot Pleads Guilty
Sultan Khanbey Sentenced To 14 Months In Prison
MIAMI (AP) ―
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Sultan Khanbey
Miami-Dade Dept. of Corrections/Courtesy Miami Herald
A man linked to plotters who allegedly hoped to blow up Chicago's
Sears Tower and other buildings pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal weapons charge stemming from a confrontation at the group's warehouse headquarters.
Sultan Khanbey, 51, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke to 14 months in prison with credit for the time he has served since his arrest in May. Cooke agreed to recommend that Khanbey serve his sentence at a prison in the Chicago area, where he is from.
Khanbey, a leader of Chicago's
Moorish Science Temple religious sect who was born Charles Stewart, admitted that he fired a handgun during an argument at the warehouse where a group led by
Narseal Batiste allegedly pledged allegiance to
al-Qaida and made plans for terror attacks.
Prosecutors say Batiste and six others arrested this summer never got beyond the plotting stage and that a man they thought was an al-Qaida operative was actually an FBI informant.
Khanbey, who has past convictions for attempted murder and rape, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He fired the gun during an argument that followed a "trial" held by Khanbey to expel Batiste from the Moorish organization amid suspicions it had been infiltrated by the FBI.
The seven terror suspects remain jailed without bond and face trial March 5 in Miami. All have pleaded not guilty. Khanbey did not agree in pleading guilty to cooperate in that case.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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