Wrigleyville Bomb Suspect Ordered Held

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Sep 23, 2010 2:20PM

Despite arguments from his attorney that he should be released to home confinement, Sami Samir Hassoun, the 22-year-old Lebanese man accused of trying to set off a bomb in Wrigleyville over the weekend, has been ordered held without bond. Calling Hassoun a "troubled young man who was scattered in his thoughts," his attorney Myron Auerbach argued he should be turned over to family supervision. But federal judge Susan Cox disagreed: "There's an instability in this man that cannot be addressed through electronic monitoring. It's hard to imagine an offense that presents more potential danger to the public."

Before the hearing yesterday, Auerbach said that he would consider entrapment as a possible defense. According to the feds, Hassoun had expressed a desire to an associate to pull off such terror acts as the bombing, poisoning Lake Michigan, bombing the Willis Tower and assassinating Mayor Richard Daley. But an acquaintance tipped off the feds to his desires and he was eventually connected with a pair of undercover agents who "aided" him in his plans, leading to his planting a fake bomb - though Hassoun thought it was real - in a trash can near the bar Sluggers in Wrigleyville on Saturday night. Auerbach countered, "No, he's not a terrorist. I think my client found himself in a situation where he became enmeshed in dialogue with the confidential source."

Hassoun has been charged with one count each of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted use of an explosive device, both felonies. If convicted, he'd face a minimum sentence of five years in prison with a max sentence of life.