Faisal Shahzad to Appear in Manhattan Federal Court

May 18, 2010 - PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that FAISAL SHAHZAD is expected to appear in Manhattan federal court at an undetermined time later today before United States Magistrate Judge JAMES C. FRANCIS IV on five felony charges for allegedly attempting to detonate a car bomb into Times Square on the evening of May 1, 2010.

SHAHZAD has been in law enforcement custody since his arrest on May 3, 2010, and has provided valuable intelligence from which further investigative action has been taken. The investigation into the attempted Times Square bombing continues.

SHAHZAD is charged with one count of attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; one count attempting acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; one count of use of a destructive device in connection with an attempted crime of violence, which carries a consecutive mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison; one count of transporting and receiving explosives, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; and one count of attempting to damage and destroy property by means of fire and explosives, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Mr. BHARARA praised the collective investigative work of the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force and the prosecutors and investigators in the Southern District of New York. Mr. BHARARA thanked the United States Attorney's Offices for the District of Massachusetts and the District of Connecticut, as well as the Department of Homeland Security for their significant assistance in the investigation.

Assistant United States Attorneys BRENDAN R. MCGUIRE, RANDALL W. JACKSON, JOHN P. CRONAN, and JEFFREY A. BROWN from the Office's Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.