By Aaron Burgin, The Porterville Recorder
FRESNO - A U.S. District Court judge said Thursday that a Porterville businessman suspected of trying to buy stolen military weapons he wanted to send to the Middle East, can do everything he can to save his business with one proviso: He must do it in jail.

Calling Talal “Ted” Ali Chammout a “forceful and violent” man who “doesn't think he is bound by law,” Judge Oliver Wanger tentatively ruled Chammout was a danger to the community and posed a flight risk, and would not qualify for bail.

“I am not going to release him into the community,” Wanger said after an hour-long bail reconsideration hearing. “However, I am not going to deny him reasonable measures to save his business.”

The judge hinted throughout the hearing that Chammout's alleged actions parallel the actions of terrorists. “We are talking about overt acts that span over two years involving the acquisition or attempted acquisition of paramilitary and military equipment,” Wanger said. “This is more than street crime.”

Chammout, who owns Truckers Oil Company in Porterville, has been in the Fresno County jail since his Dec. 7 arrest for allegedly purchasing five Beretta pistols from an undercover FBI agent. He faces 15 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Later that day, a federal and state task force raided his business and uncovered a large cache of weapons and ammunition, including three AK-47 assault rifles.

Defense attorney Roger Nuttall said Chammout's prolonged absence has crippled the business. Wanger said he would allow Chammout to confer with business contacts, his employees and his brother either by phone or at a court-appointed location. Prosecutor Carl Faller and Nuttall said they would work out the arrangements. Chammout, presently in custody, thanked Wanger several times for the judge's consideration. Wanger will finalize his ruling at a Feb. 5 status conference, and ordered Chammout to remain in jail.

The 47-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen was the focus of a two-year federal and state investigation, in which reportedly Chammout told the undercover FBI agent he wanted to deliver missiles, rocket launchers and other weapons to Middle Eastern nations, including Syria, Jordan and Iraq.

Chammout is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, and conspiracy to possess stolen government property. He was denied bail Dec. 15 by U.S. Court Magistrate Judge Lawrence O'Neill, who said the case “is in the terrorist category.”

Nuttall presented Wanger with testimony about Chammout's philanthropic endeavors in Porterville, and from Chammout's employees who said they have been jobless since his arrest. Two of the employees, Mike Alghonaym and Ahmed Ahmad, were present at the proceedings. Also present was Chammout's brother, Nasser, who is expected to handle the daily business operations as his brother awaits trial. Nasser, Nuttall said, needs his younger brother to re-establish business contacts critical to the operation of the company.

The men present, Nuttall said, were prepared to proctor Talal Chammout to ensure he abided by the terms of his pre-trial release, if it were granted. Nuttall also argued the prosecution's allegation of Middle Eastern ties and hints of terrorism “amounted to a lot of talk.”

During his 10-minute summary of Chammout's alleged criminal activity, which included an alleged plot in March 2005 to kill his estranged wife, Faller said that “upstanding businessmen don't talk about having Stinger missiles delivered to Iraq.” “Anyone who asks to buy missiles, and has bought chemical suits, Kevlar vests and Beretta pistols, these are not for sporting and hunting use,” Faller said. “We are absolutely convinced that if he were left to his own devices, his wife would have been dead.”

After weighing the facts presented by Faller and Nuttall, Wanger summarized his findings in five points. Each, he said, demonstrated Chammout's lack of respect for the law.

“The court does not believe it can trust him,” Wanger said of Chammout. “I am not saying that he doesn't care about the law, he just doesn't follow it.” This said, Wanger said Chammout's business and the employees who work for him should not have to suffer as a result of the trial.

Wanger told Nuttall that his mind could still be changed, and the decision was not final. Faller said Wanger's message was clear. “I think he was pretty clear that he is not going to allow him to be released,” Faller said. After the proceedings, Nasser Chammout said he believed his brother was treated unfairly. “There are a lot of things I don't think are fair that the judge brought up,” Nasser Chammout said. “It's difficult [to operate the business with Talal Chammout in prison].”

Contact Aaron Burgin at 784-5000, Ext. 1047, or aburgin@portervillerecorder.com.

This story was published in The Porterville Recorder on Jan. 12, 2007