U.S. Attorney’s Office
Western District of Texas
WACO, TX—U.S. Attorney John E. Murphy and FBI Special Agent in Charge Cory B. Nelson announced that a federal grand jury seated in Waco returned an indictment this afternoon charging 21-year-old Naser Jason Abdo with possession of an unregistered destructive device, as well as possession of a firearm and ammunition by a fugitive from justice.
The three-count indictment specifically alleges that on July 27, 2011, Abdo was in possession of a destructive device not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record as well as a .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol and 20-gauge shot shells while being a fugitive from justice.
According to court records, officers with the Killeen (Texas) Police Department arrested Abdo on July 27, 2011. At the time of his arrest, the defendant, an AWOL soldier from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, was in possession of the handgun plus instructions on how to build a bomb as well as bomb making components, including six bottles of smokeless gunpowder, shotgun shells, shotgun pellets, two clocks, two spools of auto wire, an electric drill, and two pressure cookers. Court documents also allege that Abdo intended to use the materials to assemble two destructive devices with the intention of detonating them inside an unspecified restaurant frequented by soldiers from Fort Hood.
Abdo remains in federal custody. If convicted, he faces up to 10 in years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine per count.
This case is being investigated by agents with the FBI together with U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Killeen Police Department; and the Texas Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Frazier is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
An indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
