Rancho Bernardo resident arrested for alleged ties to terrorism

(CNS) — A man living in Rancho Bernardo was arrested early Wednesday afternoon for his alleged ties with terrorism, according to officials.

The arrest of Mohamad Saeed Kodaimati occurred at a home where he was living in the 12000 block of Caminito de la Gallarda, according to FBI Special Agent Darrell Foxworth.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Parmley said Kodaimati, a naturalized U.S. citizen since September 2008 who was born in Syria, returned to the U.S. three weeks ago after spending the past two years in Syria and Turkey.

On Thursday, Kodaimati was charged with making false statements to federal agents about his recent activities and associations in Syria when he appeared before a U.S. magistrate judge in San Diego.

Magistrate Judge Karen Crawford ordered the 24-year-old be held without bail after prosecutors alleged the defendant was a danger to the community and a flight risk. A detention hearing was set for April 28.

Kodaimati has been charged with two counts of making false statements in an international terrorism investigation. According to the criminal complaint, Kodaimati falsely claimed that he never had been involved in any fighting, that he never fired his weapon at anyone, that he did not know anyone who was a member of ISIL — known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant — that he had never told anyone else that he was involved with the militant group Al-Nusrah, and that he had never worked or volunteered at a Sharia court.

Evidence gathered during the investigation contradicts those and other statements Kodaimati made to agents from the FBI and the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, last month, Parmley said.