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New details emerge about MacDill bomb suspects
Federal prosecutors are requesting that the woman charged in connection with a bomb plot at MacDill Air Force Base be kept behind bars. FOX 13's Kylie Jones reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - Federal prosecutors are requesting that the woman charged in connection with a bomb plot at MacDill Air Force Base be kept behind bars.
Ann Mary Zheng, 27, is accused of helping her brother, Alen Zheng, 20, plant an IED at the base in March.
She appeared in federal court on Tuesday for a detention hearing.
What we know:
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Alen Zheng, 20, faces multiple federal charges, including attempting to damage government property, unlawfully making a destructive device and possessing an unregistered destructive device.
His sister, Ann Mary Zheng, 27, was booked on charges of witness tampering and acting as an accessory after the fact.
The backstory:
The U.S. Attorney's Office of the Middle District of Florida said the investigation began on March 10, when a 911 call warned of a bomb near the base’s visitor center. At the time, no device had been located.
According to federal prosecutors, Alen Zheng purchased the phone used to make the threat at a Best Buy, and surveillance video captured him making the purchase and using a vehicle later tied to the case.
Timeline:
Federal agents say that on March 11, the Zhengs sold the car used to deliver the IED on CarMax.
On March 12, the brother and sister had reportedly flown to China.
Six days after the bomb was planted, on March 16, an Air Force service member discovered a hidden explosive device near the visitor center. Investigators later determined it was an improvised explosive device capable of causing serious harm or death.
Investigators say Ann Mary Zheng flew back to the U.S. on March 17 and was taken into custody. On March 18, federal agents executed a search warrant of the family's home in Land O'Lakes where they found IED components similar with those detected in the bomb found at the visitor’s center.
Alen Zheng is still believed to be on the run in China.
Dig deeper:
At Ann Mary Zheng's detention hearing in federal court in Tampa on Tuesday, prosecutors argued for her to be held without bond. They said she poses a flight risk and is a danger to continue to obstruct the investigation.
Her search history was at the top of their argument. According to a report from the Tampa Bay Times, federal prosecutors said her ChatGPT history showed searches about obtaining a Chinese visa and power of attorney to transfer properties in her brother's name.
The report also said investigators found a picture on Zheng's phone of a form that her brother filled out to remain in China, suggesting he's a dual citizen.
"They see that this woman has done a great deal of research," retired FBI Special Agent Rich Kolko said. "You can see where conspiracy is, where she was part of the plan, plotting and escape. And that certainly makes her a high risk to flee that country as well."
Last week, The U.S. Attorney's Office of the Middle District of Florida said their last notification indicated that Alen was still in China.
What they're saying:
"The FBI has agents stationed in China," Kolko said. "Their job is to build liaison with law enforcement and intelligence communities over there. And they'll ask if they can find this person. They'll ask that they can talk to him or, they'll do an interview for the FBI. Don't know what any of those answers are going to be yet, but that'll take some time. But they're not going to be overly supportive of, if he is an American citizen who did a terrorist act here, there's no real reason for them to protect him over there."
The U.S. has no extradition treaty with China, but Kolko says similar agreements with other countries will limit where Alen Zheng could go without getting caught.
He says federal agents will continue working this case to uncover evidence and track Alen Zheng down.
"Because the investigation is so young right now, they need to see if there's other people involved," Kolko said. "Did he do other bombings? Did he prepare other bombs? There's a lot more information that'll come out in the next couple of weeks or months."
The siblings' mother was also picked up by agents for reportedly overstaying her visa.
What's next:
A federal judge has until Friday to determine whether to grant Ann Mary Zheng bond.
The Source: