Judge sets bail at $1.2 million for Lodi father in terror case

A federal judge on Monday ordered Lodi resident Umer Hayat released on $1.2 million bail while awaiting trial for lying to agents who were investigating terrorism.

The 47-year-old will not immediately be released from custody, because the U.S. Eastern District Magistrate Judge Gregory G. Hollows gave prosecutors time to appeal the ruling.

The Lodi ice cream salesman has been jailed for more than three months after being arrested during an FBI terrorism investigation in Lodi. His 23-year-old son, Hamid Hayat, who was indicted Thursday on a terrorism charge, remains jailed without bail.

"I'm cautiously optimistic," attorney Johnny L. Griffin III, who represents Umer Hayat, said of the judge's ruling.

He told Umer Hayat, who is being held at the Sacramento County Jail, of the news Monday.

"He's extremely happy," Griffin said. "But I am cautioning him not to be too happy because the government can still appeal."

Late Monday afternoon, the government filed notice that they would appeal the case, citing court rules that give them until Oct. 11 to do so.

U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott issued a brief statement, saying that his office disagreed with the court ruling and that "it is the government's position that a court can in fact consider both the risk of flight and the danger Umer Hayat poses when considering whether to grant or deny bail."

Prosecutors had argued at a Friday court hearing that Umer Hayat should be considered dangerous and a flight risk, but Hollows pointed out what Umer Hayat's attorney has said more than once: He is only charged with one count of lying to FBI agents.

The current case began May 30, when Hamid Hayat was detained on his way back to Lodi from Pakistan, because his name was on a no-fly list. Days later, he was arrested and charged with two counts of lying to investigators about his alleged attendance at terror training camps in Pakistan.

His father, who had denied knowing about the camps or of helping his son, was charged with one count of lying to FBI agents.

Bail conditions

Conditions on which Umer Hayat may be released, pending appeal, as specified by U.S. Magistrate Judge Gregory G. Hollows:
• Post $1.2 million bond with four Lodi homes previously assessed at that amount.
• Live in his Acacia Street home and, except for a medical emergency, not leave unless approved by the court. He will also be on electronic monitoring, and must pay the costs associated with it.
• All of his phones, including cellular phones, will be monitored and tapped, and no other phones will be allowed in the home.
• He can be searched on reasonable suspicion, in order to prevent any possible flight.
• He cannot possess any firearms or dangerous weapons.
• He must tell the court the identities of any visitor, except for his attorneys, within two days of the visit.
• He cannot possess or try to access any documents authorizing international travel.
-- News-Sentinel staff.

Both had sought bail, but when a grand jury Thursday also charged Hamid Hayat with providing material support to terrorists, his attorney dropped her request.

At Friday's hearing regarding bail, prosecutors had argued that because the case involves terrorism, that was enough to keep Umer Hayat in jail. The judge disagreed.

"No case, to (my) knowledge, has ever held that making false statements to the FBI is a crime of violence," Hollows wrote in Monday's decision.

Further, Hollows pointed out, while Umer Hayat faces up to eight years in prison, that's the maximum penalty. Alternatively, he could be sentenced to three years in prison if convicted, or no prison time at all.

Prosecutors had also argued that Umer Hayat might very well flee to his native Pakistan because he is the sole provider of his family. Hollows expressed doubt, wondering if the man really would "simply fly off leaving his son to fend for himself -- all to avoid a relatively modest (as far as federal sentences go) prison sentence."

Additionally, Umer Hayat and his relatives offered four Lodi homes as bond. Property appraisers valued the homes at $1.213 million.

"It is one thing to leave your own possessions and flee to a foreign country; it is quite another to knowingly permit others to be left 'holding the bag,'" Hollows wrote.

If released from custody, Umer Hayat will face a number of restrictions, including home detention, electronic monitoring and phone taps.

Hollows had outlined those restrictions at Friday's court appearance, where the Hayats were listening through an Urdu interpreter. When Griffin asked for a moment to speak to his client about them, Umer Hayat agreed instantly without hesitation or question.

While Hollows sided with the defense, he did express one final concern, which he had mentioned at Friday's hearing.

"If the government is correct in its assumptions about Umer, his true colors and allegiance might get him more actively involved in terrorist activities than simply facilitating his son's involvement. However, given the facts that the government has proffered thus far about Umer, such would only be remote speculation," he wrote.

The government's appeal will be heard by Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr., who will preside over the trial that has not yet been scheduled.

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.

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