Pat Dollard

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TAMPA, Fla. – An Egyptian college student who made a video demonstrating how to turn remote-controlled devices into bomb detonators has agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge of providing material support to terrorists, according to a plea agreement filed Friday.

Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed, one of two students arrested after a traffic stop in South Carolina in August, will enter the plea at a hearing next week, said his attorney Linda Moreno.

Deputies said they found explosives in the trunk of their car, but defense attorneys claim they were merely ingredients for homemade fireworks.

Under the terms of the plea deal, prosecutors have agreed to dismiss other charges against Mohamed, 26.

Mohamed stated that his purpose in producing and uploading the video to YouTube was to teach “martyrdoms” and “suiciders” how to save themselves so they could continue to fight, the plea agreement said.

Mohamed faces a maximum sentence of 15 years of prison, a $250,000 fine, and as many as three years of supervised release.

Moreno said her client decided to plead guilty “after a very long and agonizing decision and with the support of his family he decided to plead guilty to the one charge.”

She said he could have risked life in prison, if convicted.

A telephone message left for the U.S. Attorney’s Office was not immediately returned.

The plea agreement describes the 12-minute video uploaded onto YouTube and it said after Mohamed’s arrest he was interviewed and addressed the video.

“His statements constitute admissions that his intention in producing and distributing the recording was to support attempts by terrorists to murder employees of the United States, including members of the uniformed services, while such persons were engaged in or on account of the performance of their official duties,” the agreement said.

The other former University of South Florida student, Youssef Samir Megahed, is charged with illegally transporting explosives and possession of a destructive device. Mohamed faced those charges plus terrorism related counts stemming from the how-to video.

They claim they were on a sightseeing trip and using GPS to find gas stations where they could buy cheap gas with gift cards.

A search of the car uncovered bullets and items in the trunk of the car that authorities described as pipe bombs, police said. Attorneys for the students said the items were four PVC pipes containing a mixture of sugar, potassium nitrate and cat litter, which along with fuses would be used for homemade, low-grade fireworks.

An FBI laboratory analysis determined the items were a “pyrotechnic mixture” that burned but didn’t explode in tests.

Megahed was supposed be tried separately starting in May, but the trial was delayed after prosecutors appealed a judge’s ruling to exclude some evidence. A judge released Megahed on $200,000 bail. It wasn’t clear when the trial would start.

(AP)