By LA QUINTA CLARK & RENEE BEYDA
A Mali national accused of murder and attempted murder of U.S. Embassy staff accepted a plea of 25 years in prison in Brooklyn Federal Court on Thursday.
Alhassane Ould Mohamed also was sentenced to serve five years of supervision after his release for crimes committed on Dec. 23, 2000 in Niger, according to Prosecutor Zainab Ahmad.
Over a decade ago, the 46-year-old low ranking Al Qaeda member fatally shot Department of Defense employee William Bultemeier, and injured United States Marine Sergeant, Christopher McNeely who were serving in the U.S. Embassy in Niamey, the capital of Niger.
Mohamed, also known as, “Cheibani”, ambushed Bultemeier and McNeely after they left La Cloche Restaurant and then attempted to steal their diplomatic licensed Toyota Land Cruiser, said the indictment. The defendant then shot the officials with an AK47 assault rifle, retrieved the car keys from the victim’s pocket, and drove away from the scene in the stolen diplomatic car.
“I agreed with other people to steal a car, and used weapons to steal the car. I knew beforehand someone may get hurt and killed,” said Mohamed in court on Thursday. “I used a rifle. I didn’t have a target but after I shot, I saw the person on the ground. I shot everywhere. It was not my intent to kill someone.”
Prosecutor Zainab Ahmad requested expedited sentencing so the victim’s family could be present in the courtroom. Sentencing was set for Apr. 26.
Mohamed was seeing a psychiatrist and taking tranquilizers, however he said, “It does not impact my mind.”
Mohamed tipped an imaginary hat and grinned at Judge William F. Kuntx II as he exited the courtroom.
He was born in Mali and worked with his father growing up. He never received any schooling as a child.
In 2010, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in killing four tourists in Saudi Arabia, however he escaped in 2013 along with 22 other inmates. Later that year he was captured by French forces in Mali and extradited to the U.S. where he was indicted in Brooklyn for his crimes ten years earlier.
Bultemeier was scheduled to arrive home two days after the shooting.
Photo: Alhassane Ould Mohamed (r) & William Bultemeier
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