A first-time offender was sentenced Monday to six months in jail for falsely reporting a plot to blow up the Renaissance Center.
Abdul El-Safady had earlier pleaded guilty to lying to police. The 33-year-old Windsor man admitted that he incorrectly told officers on several occasions between Dec. 21 and Dec. 24, 2012, that his brother-in-law asked El-Safady to acquire and deliver explosives to him so that the brother-in-law could bomb the iconic Detroit building that houses the world headquarters of General Motors.
The calls launched a multi-force police investigation, which included the RCMP, on both sides of the border.
Investigators said the only motivation El-Safady seemed to have was a desire to get back at his brother-in-law over a family fight. The Crown attorney noted that his brother-in-law, despite being innocent, was put on a watch list that may hamper his ability to travel in the future.
El-Safady, who represented himself in court, declined comment when given the chance Monday by Ontario Court Justice Lloyd Dean. When El-Safady realized, however, that he was about to get jail time he rose and asked to speak.
Dressed in a black hoodie that read You Only Live Once, and speaking in a barely audible voice, El-Safady expressed remorse.
“I am very, very sorry,” El-Safady said, adding that he committed the crime because he was “very angry.”
He also acknowledged that his actions were “awful.”
Dean noted that El-Safady does not have a prior criminal record and that he pleaded guilty and expressed remorse. Dean also said, however, that it is important in today’s society to create deterrence of terrorism hoaxes.
He sentenced El-Safady to six months in jail followed by 12 months of probation, and ordered him to submit a sample of his DNA to police.
“The Sept., 11, 2001, incident has caused a heightened awareness about individuals who are plotting or involved in terrorist activities,” Dean said. “When someone makes an assertion such as Mr. El-Safady did on this date, it causes a lot of concern.
“It’s not just the local police force that gets involved. It involves the highest level of police forces in both Canada and the United States.”
Dean expressed regret that El-Safady would likely lose the business he started after saving money from delivering pizza, but said a message must be sent to the community.
“I regret it, Mr. El-Safady, but that is my sentence,” Dean said. “You’re just going to have to pick up yourself afterwards and move on from here and learn from this. And I hope the community learns form this, as well, that there are things in this day and age that cannot occur.”
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