Lebanese Immigrant Held on Weapons Charges
Dec. 12 -- A Lebanese immigrant who highlighted Sept. 11 on a calendar and claimed to have trained at guerrilla camps is being held on federal weapons charges after a search of his home turned up more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, Portland, Ore., police and federal officials said Tuesday.
Ali Khaled Steitiye, 39, was arrested Oct. 24 following an investigation by the Anti-Terrorism Task Force in Portland, Police Chief Mark Kroeker said at a news conference Tuesday.
Kroeker said Steitiye came to authorities' attention when he tried to buy an assault weapon using fraudulent documents. A gun dealer contacted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and Steitiye was placed under surveillance.
"Back in August, the Joint-Terrorism Task Force learned that Steitiye, who was a convicted felon, was attempting to fraudulently obtain an assault weapon," Kroeker said. "The gun dealer called the ATF, who then began their investigation."
In a search of Steitiye's southwest Portland home and his car, police said they found a loaded Russian-made 9 mm pistol, an assault rifle, more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, a plaque bearing the name "Hamas" — the militant Islamic group that has staged suicide bombings in Israel — and a calendar highlighting Sept. 11, the date of the terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Fake Documents, $20,000 in Cash Found
Police said it is not clear whether Steitiye highlighted the date before or after the attacks. Steitiye was not on the list of 23 people in Portland whom federal officials wanted police to interview as part of the nationwide terror investigation, and Kroeker refused to comment on whether Steitiye is believed to have any links to the terrorist attacks.
"The connections he has to any individuals or other groups arespecifically off-limits for me to discuss," Kroeker said.
Kroeker said Steitiye claimed to have received training at Lebanese guerrilla camps. He said police also found $20,000 in cash, fraudulent immigration papers, fake credit cards and an immigration card that investigators believe may have been obtained illegally.
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