Afghan refugee faces homicide cost in third Muslim killing

An Afghan refugee charged within the slayings of two Muslim males is dealing with new costs in reference to the taking pictures loss of life of one other man within the car parking zone of a refugee resettlement company earlier this month.

A grand jury indicted Muhammad Syed within the three killings on Monday. He’s additionally a suspect within the taking pictures loss of life of a Muslim store proprietor in November 2021, however he has but to be charged in that case.

The indictment contains the deaths of Aftab Hussein and Muhammad Afzaal Hussain. Hussein, 41, was slain on the night time of July 26 after parking his automotive within the regular spot close to his residence.

Afzaal Hussain, a 27-year-old city planner who had labored on the marketing campaign of a New Mexico congresswoman, was gunned down on August 1 whereas taking his night stroll.

In the August 5 killing, authorities have accused Syed of taking pictures Naeem Hussain as he sat in his automobile outdoors Lutheran Family Services, the resettlement company, following funeral providers for 2 of the opposite taking pictures victims.

Shots had been fired at Hussain’s SUV round 4 pm (native time), putting him within the head and the arm.

Syed, 51, has denied any involvement within the killings that shook New Mexico’s Muslim neighborhood, and his protection attorneys argued throughout a court docket listening to final week that he had no prison document since earlier home violence circumstances towards him weren’t pursued.

Prosecutors argued that Syed was a harmful man. A state district agreed, ordering Syed to be held with out bond pending trial.

The indictment made public Monday additionally contains 4 counts of tampering with proof associated to the three killings that Syed has been charged with.

“Our homicide detectives continue to work with prosecutors to ensure all victims receive justice in this tragic case,” Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina stated in an announcement.

Syed’s public defenders declined to touch upon the most recent costs.

Albuquerque police detectives obtained surveillance video that confirmed a grey sedan fleeing the scene after Naeem Hussain was shot. Tips from the general public and extra surveillance video helped detectives establish the automobile and so they named Syed because the proprietor of the automotive.

Syed was arrested on August 8 greater than 100 miles (160 kilometres) from his Albuquerque residence. He instructed authorities he was on his technique to Texas, citing the ambush-style killings as his concern.

According to the preliminary prison criticism filed by Albuquerque police, investigators decided that bullet casings present in Syed’s automobile matched the caliber of the weapons believed to have been used within the July 26 and August 1 killings and that casings discovered on the crime scenes had been linked to weapons discovered at Syed’s residence and in his automobile.

Federal authorities in court docket filings have pointed to cellphone data and accused one in every of Syed’s sons of presumably serving to his father monitor Naeem Hussain earlier than he was killed.

Shaheen Syed’s legal professional has argued that these accusations had been skinny and dismissed prosecutors’ claims that the youthful Syed supplied a false tackle when buying a gun from an area store in 2021.