Judge Emilio Chavez dismissed charges of child neglect against all five defendants in the New Mexico compound case. Two of the suspects are being held still on charges stemming from the death of the young boy.
The judge claims he had no choice since they were not brought to court within 10 days. Also, the other three have been set free. It’s not yet known if they can be recharged and prosecuted after the judge’s bad decision. What do they put in the judge’s water down there? These were people planning a terrorist attack on an Atlanta hospital, schools, and the police.
The other two suspects, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj and his partner Jany Leveille, were immediately charged by prosecutors on new charges of child abuse resulting in death. Along with the eleven children found living at the compound in squalor, police discovered the body of a three-year-old who had gone missing and died in the care of the suspects.
The two suspects are accused of neglecting to provide proper medicine and health care to the boy, and other children from the compound allegedly told police that he was subjected to rituals to cast out demons.
The 10-day evidentiary rule was imposed by the state supreme court. Prosecutors now have the choice to refill the charges, or seek a grand jury indictment against them.
The deceased three-year-old, Abdul-ghani Wahhaj, was being sought by police since his disappearance in Georgia.
Although the judge was wrong, the bulk of the blame falls on the prosecutors who are well aware of the ten-day rule. But obviously, they relied on the fact that these are terrorists.
More from CBS News:
Prosecutors have other options for pursuing charges against the three — Lucas Morton, Subhannah Wahhaj and Hujrah Wahhaj. That could including refiling the charges or asking a grand jury to indict them.
Prosecutors had pressed to keep them behind bars and planned to present new evidence of an anti-government plot and talk of jihad and martyrdom among some members of the extended Muslim family that settled at the compound last winter.
Defense attorneys say their clients have no record of criminal convictions and pose no risk to the public.
Authorities are pushing ahead with other charges filed against the dead boy’s father, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, and his partner, Jany Leveille.
They appeared in court Wednesday on charges of child abuse resulting in death, which could carry life sentences in connection with the death of Abdul-ghani Wahhaj. The severely disabled boy’s badly decomposed remains were found this month inside a tunnel at the high-desert compound near the Colorado state line.
Siraj Ibn Wahhaj and Leveille pleaded not guilty. They remained silent in court when the new charges were read.