BEAUMONT, Texas — In a hearing Thursday, a federal magistrate judge ordered a 26-year-old New York man accused of having a gun and ammo near a Beaumont school to be held without bond.
Ahmed Abdalla Allam, 26, was named in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury on Feb. 1, 2023, charging him with possession of a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school.
His attorney, Ryan Gertz, filed a motion to dismiss the federal indictment on Monday.
Allam pleaded not guilty last week in Federal court.
On January 29, 2023, Beaumont Police received multiple calls about a suspicious vehicle around St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica School and Temple Emanuel. The callers said a man in a black Toyota Rav 4 with New York license plates was parked across the street and staying there for hours and even days at a time.
When taken into custody, Allam was in possession of a semi-automatic rifle, a 30-round magazine and 150 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition according to the affidavit.
Gertz argued in the motion to dismiss that the definition of a school zone as defined in the law is overly broad.
He also noted that Allam was not on the school grounds or inside a school building with the gun.
Allam is also not prohibited from having a gun and has no felony or violent criminal history Gertz wrote in the motion.
Gertz also said in the motion that based on the 1,000 foot radius from the school a person could potentially be charged for having a gun with them while driving in or out of downtown Beaumont.
He noted that the grounds of St. Anthony Basilica School and Cathedral take up four-city block area.
Gertz argued a person with a gun could be charged while driving along Martin Luther King, Jr. Parkway or parking at the Beaumont Event Center.
Gertz also wrote in the motion that the entire 1,000 foot diameter covers more than 45 blocks.
The hearing Thursday lasted more than four hours.
Prosecutors claim Allam was gathering information for a possible attack.
Gertz tells 12News he will continue fighting to have the case dismissed.
If convicted, Allam faces up to 5 years in federal prison an a $250,000 fine.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
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