Lodi resident heading to federal prison for role in terror case, but which one?

Now that he has been sentenced for his role in a terrorism investigation, where will Lodi resident Hamid Hayat go to serve out his 24-year prison term?

His attorneys asked Tuesday that he stay in California, but because Hayat, 25, is entering the federal prison system, he could technically go anywhere in the country.

Prison officials encourage visits from family members to promote good behavior and rehabilitation, so the chance of Hayat being sent thousands of miles from his home is slim.

Defense attorneys on Tuesday filed a request that U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr., who sentenced Hayat the previous day, make prison recommendations. They asked that Hayat be sent to a high-security prison in California, suggesting institutions in Atwater and Victorville.

Hayat's prison placement will ultimately be determined by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons; it is not known when he will be transferred.

Hayat has spent the past two years in the Sacramento County Jail, located mere blocks from the federal courthouse where he went on trial, accused of attending a terror training camp in Pakistan.

A jury convicted him in April 2006 of providing material support to terrorists, as well as three counts of lying to the FBI when they questioned him about it. Hayat will not be eligible for parole for more than 18 years.

He will join 199,510 other people currently in federal prisons, which range from minimum security institutions with no outside fences to high security centers with well-secured perimeters of walls and reinforced fences.

White collar criminals — such as former San Joaquin County Sheriff Baxter Dunn, who was indicted in a public corruption case and pleaded guilty to mail fraud — go to prisons with low restrictions. Some that are privately run even have golf courses; Dunn's prison had no fences and allowed inmates to play softball and basketball, or watch TV when they weren't working six hours a day.

Hayat, convicted of terrorism, will not go to such a prison. High security prisons, also called U.S. Penitentiaries, have close control of inmate movement and the highest staff-to-inmate ratio, according to the Bureau of Prisons.

California has three such men's penitentiaries:

• Atwater Penitentiary, about 72 miles south of Lodi, is just north of Merced, directly off Highway 99. As of Thursday, 1,106 inmates were housed there.

• Victorville Penitentiary, located 378 miles from Lodi, down Highway 99 to Bakersfield and then south-east, is in the town of Adelanto between San Bernardino and Barstow. It held 1,421 inmates Thursday.

• Defense attorneys did not suggest Lompoc Penitentiary, near Vandenberg Air Force Base and Santa Barbara, 312 miles from Lodi. A total of 1,709 inmates are held there.

The next closest penitentiary is in Tucson, Ariz.

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.

Reader Feedback

who cares wrote on Sep 12, 2007 4:07 PM:

" who cares where he goes, as long as he stays there for the full 24 years. None of this getting out early for good behavior junk. "

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Jihadist Jerry wrote on Sep 12, 2007 3:06 PM:

" Send him to a prison that also houses some former politicians. That will REALLY make him nervous when he bends over in the shower to pick up the soap! "

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Locke E'm Up, Throw Away The Key! wrote on Sep 12, 2007 11:33 AM:

" Too bad Hyatt, it looks like Daddy's ice cream van will have to work extra hard in order to pay your attorney! So sad our government allowed someone as yourself to work here, and send money from the icecream to help your son in a terrorist training camp to kill Americans! "

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Whoa Nellie! wrote on Sep 12, 2007 9:29 AM:

" Gimmie a break! A convicted felon wants to stay in Cali so he can be close to his family? Send him across the nation and after a few months he will be broken and he can be "interviewed" again & again. Maybe we can get more info from the Ice Cream Truck Drivers son. "

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ex-con wrote on Sep 12, 2007 8:05 AM:

" They'll probably send him to the federal prison in Lompoc, Ca. He can be close to mommy, daddy and family there and not have to be inconvenienced to badly for wanting to kill American citizens. He won't see general population or yard, and will get 24 hour security and suicide watch. That's the basic treatment given cowards and jihadists. "

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