Jordanian who tried to buy sniper rifle wants to go home
YOUNGSTOWN
Abdul Maola Alabadi wants to return to his home country of Jordan, and U.S. Attorneys want to send him there, but the process may take more than three months.
“His mother is ill in Jordan,” Atty. Dave Betras told Magistrate Judge George J. Limbert in U.S. District Court. “He’s begging me to get back to Jordan. [The government wants] him to go to Jordan, and he can’t get back to Jordan.”
Alabadi, who aroused suspicions by asking at a Boardman sporting goods store earlier this year for a “sniper rifle for training,” pleaded guilty Wednesday to making a false claim of citizenship.
He misidentified himself as a U.S. citizen on a form he filled out during a previous firearm purchase, U.S. Attorneys said.
Alabadi possesses a green card, but is not a citizen. Noncitizens can purchase firearms, but they are required to list a U.S.-issued identification number.
Wednesday’s proceedings lasted more than an hour as an interpreter and Betras attempted to explain the process to Alabadi.
At one point, he claimed he mistakenly filled out the form because of the language.
He quickly added that he understood he needed to plead guilty to return to Jordan, so he would do that.
Read more about the case in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.