Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Some visitors who should have thought a little more

If you're from an Arab nation, and you decide to visit the United States on a temporary visa from a different nation, and you decide to drive across the country in an RV visiting different cities, wouldn't you try to avoid drawing attention to yourself?

Wouldn't you?

Wouldn't you at least refrain from pulling drunk hi-jinks inside the county courthouse that sits smack-dab in the middle of the seventh-largest city in the nation?

You would, probably, but these guys didn't.
Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said surveillance video from inside the courthouse early Wednesday shows the men wearing sombreros and waving around a gavel. He says they appear to "just be some guys on a prank."

Had the two men who broke into the courthouse been from San Antonio, Wolff said the investigation would have been ruled a prank long ago.

“But when it’s people from another country, who have only been here a short while, it raises a lot of concerns,” he said.

Around 1:00 a.m. Wednesday two men were caught inside the Bexar County Courthouse.

Investigators said the courthouse’s security cameras show the men climbing a fire escape and entering the courthouse through a fourth floor window.

The men allegedly took a judges gavel from one courtroom and two sombreros from an office.

“It is very likely that these individuals were just intoxicated,” said Bexar County Sheriff Amadeo Ortiz. “ They might not of even known what this building was.”

Three additional men were found outside the courthouse inside a parked RV. Also in the RV were 90-day visas, maps, cell phones and computers.

All five men, Adil Ajiad, Camile Huet, Hicham Ajjaid,, Mehdi Ajjaid, and Meissa Mithra, are in the United States on visas from France and are of Moroccan decent, according to the sheriff’s office.
(from KENS-5)

They should have waited until Fiesta. No one would have batted an eye then.

3 comments:

AlanDP said...

I don't believe it. The sheriff is blowing smoke.

Anonymous said...

the comment about not drawing attention to themselves is racist...visitors are not supposed to draw attention to themselves? really? because they are Arab? now breaking and entering is a totally different story...and noone is supposed to do that....

Albatross said...

I meant by criminal activity. When people from foreign countries visit other lands they generally should avoid drawing attention to themselves, especially when that behavior involves breaking and entering. Any person, from any country, visiting any other country.

That's not racist. That's pragmatic.

When that person is a Muslim from an Arab country visiting the United States (which happened to lose a couple of tall towers some years ago due to Islamic extremism) and that person commits a crime by breaking into a place that just happens to be one of the centers of government and justice for a very large urban area, then that's just plain stupid because law enforcement will pay very, very close attention to you when they arrest you. Especially if you are on temporary visas.

That's not racist either. That's what law enforcement is supposed to do to make sure there is no more danger beyond the actions of a couple of drunk idiots using very poor judgment.