NNM compound defendants to remain jailed
Judge determines defendants charged with federal crimes to be dangerous, flight risks
A New Mexico Magistrate Court judge ruled Wednesday (Sept. 12) at U.S. District Court in Albuquerque that five adults arrested at a compound in northern Taos County last month will remain jailed as federal charges filed against them are prosecuted.
Judge Kirtan Khalsa determined following a several-hour detention hearing that Jany Leveille,
35, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, 40, Lucas Morton, 40, Hujrah Wahhaj, 37, and Subhanah Wahhaj, 35, were either so dangerous or posed such a flight risk that no condition of release could guarantee their future court appearances or the safety of New Mexico communities.
All five defendants were charged with violating federal firearms and conspiracy laws Aug. 31.
Leveille, a Haitian immigrant who had allegedly been living in the United States illegally for about
20 years, was charged with transporting multiple firearms from Georgia to Northern New Mexico in December 2017.
Her four co-defendants were charged with aiding, abetting and conspiring with the 35-year-old to commit the offense.
On Tuesday (Sept. 11), a grand jury in Albuquerque determined there was sufficient probable cause to support the federal charges.
Judge Khalsa’s decision at Wednesday’s hearing marked a clear-cut depar-
ture from Taos District Court Sarah Backus’ Aug. 13 decision to release the defendants on child abuse cases they were charged with following their arrests at the ramshackle compound where they had lived near the Colorado border.
The abuse cases were dropped after prosecutors with the 8th Judicial District Attorney’s Office failed to hold preliminary hearings for the defendants in August within a deadline imposed by state rules.
Law enforcement raided the makeshift residence where the defendants lived Aug. 3 to search for Siraj Ibn Wahhaj’s missing 3-year-old son, Abdul-Ghani Wahhaj, who was reported missing from his Georgia home in November 2017 and suffered life-threatening seizures.
Initially, they found 11 children, whom investigators said were clothed in rags and appeared to be starving. Three days after the assault, they found Abdul-Ghani dead, buried in a 100-foot tunnel investigators say the group intended to use as an escape route in case law enforcement ever arrived at the property.
Law enforcement said they also found a firing range, numerous firearms and ammunition at the compound. At Wednesday’s hearings, prosecutor George Kraehe, representing the United States, primarily relied on testimony from FBI Special Agent Travis Taylor, who recounted interviews conducted with two of Leveille’s six children who lived at the property, one 15-years-old and the other 13-years-old.
Taylor said the teens told him that Leveille had proclaimed herself a kind of prophet and leader for the group who lived at the compound, telling them she was receiving divine messages from the “Angel Gabriel.”
They said Abdul-Ghani had died during an Islamic prayer ceremony while the group was living at the compound.
Leveille allegedly believed the toddler would be resurrected as “Jesus Christ,” and would then instruct the group on which corrupt government institutions they were to either convert to their beliefs or destroy, such as schools, Taylor testified on Wednesday.
Defense attorneys called Taylor’s testimony into question.
Referring to transcripts of the interviews, they noted that at least one of the children had denied more than once that any such plan was ever put in place.
All five defense attorneys also argued that Taylor had utilized coercive tactics to manipulate the children into providing answers that would support the allegations the adults were planning to carry out religious attacks, noting that interviews were often conducted without the presence of a legal guardian or another supervisor.
Taylor also referenced a journal Leveille allegedly kept at the compound which further described the group’s plans to carry out attacks, Abdul-Ghani’s abduction and the group’s journey to Northern New Mexico.
According to Taylor’s testimony, the adults at the compound had warned the children to never speak of Abdul-Ghani, or the adults would be taken to jail.
Defense attorneys countered that United States had failed to meet its burden to prove the defendants were dangerous or a flight risk, as their sole witness, had relayed information from other parties, and that some of the evidence only pertained to some of the defendants, but not necessarily all.
They requested the defendants be transferred to La Posada Halfway House in Albuquerque, but Khalsa said its director was concerned that the high-profile nature of the cases posed a danger for both the defendants and other residents if they were released into their care.
Khalsa determined that all five defendants would be remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshall’s Service and would be held in separate facilities.
The judge also ruled that Leveille would not be allowed contact with the two teens interviewed by the FBI, as well as a third child, who is 8-years-old.
Khalsa said all three may testify as witnesses at trial and interactions with Leveille could influence their testimony.
Leveille will be allowed to participate in supervised visitations with her three other children, who are younger.
If convicted of the crimes, each defendant faces a statutory maximum penalty of five years imprisonment.
According to testimony, the adults at the compound had warned the children to never speak of Abdul-Ghani, 3, or the adults would be taken to jail.