Men have same names as pair who hijacked passenger jets
By Michele Ames and Lou Kilzer, News Staff Writers
FBI agents are investigating the activities of two former metro-area men who have the same names as two of the 19 terrorist hijackers. The investigators have looked at Abdulaziz Alomari's records from the University of Colorado at Denver and interviewed Ahmed Alghamdi's Golden landlord. Both were in the area as late as the summer of 2000.
No one is saying they are the hijackers. Officials with the FBI declined comment. Neither Alomari nor Alghamdi could be reached for comment and their whereabouts are unknown.
But Alomari's birthdate is identical to one of the two given by authorities for the Abdulaziz Alomari who was on the hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 that crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center.
Alomari graduated from UCD in May 2000 with a degree in electrical engineering. His last known local address is an apartment complex called The Lodge at 8405 E. Hampden Ave. A manager there ordered a reporter off the property when he began asking questions about Alomari.
Late Monday, the plot thickened. A man claiming to be Alomari surfaced in Saudi Arabia claiming he had nothing to do with the terrorist attacks and reporting that his identification had been stolen.
That information matches 1995 police records for the Alomari in Denver, when he reported that his apartment had been broken into and a briefcase containing his identification had been stolen.
If the man in Saudi Arabia is indeed Alomari, that might eliminate him as a suspect, but it still places someone in Denver who may have taken over his identity for use in the attack.
Alomari, the former Denver resident, was arrested by Denver police twice, once in 1995 for assault and once in 1996 for disturbing the peace. Alomari was ticketed by the Boulder County Sheriff's Department in October 1995 for driving without insurance.
In July 1997 he was pulled over by the Araphoe County Sheriff's Department after an officer could not read his licenses plates. He was cited for driving under a suspended license and failure to present insurance.
UCD Chancellor Georgia Lesh-Laurie confirmed that FBI agents had been to the school last week to look at Alomari's student records.
"He has been identified to us by law enforcement as possibly being a member of the group of terrorists," Lesh-Laurie said. "At this stage of the game, we can't confirm that. We can only confirm they've talked to us."
FBI agents late Sunday interviewed Pat Hagelberg of Golden about Alghamdi, who rented a room in her home for about a year.
The Ahmed Alghamdi listed as one of the hijackers was on United Airlines Flight 175 that crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center.
Hagelberg, of 312 Defrance Court, said a female and male agent asked her questions for half an hour, retrieving photos of Alghamdi and some cassette tapes.
She said the agents didn't say anything about Alghamdi being involved in the attack, but were checking whether he was connected to some who were.
UCD records show that Alghamdi attended school there for three years, studying business and science and obtaining a 3.14 grade-point average. Hagelberg said Alghamdi also attended the Colorado School of Mines, but officials there could find no record of that.
Hagelberg said Alghamdi was quiet, reserved and didn't drink. She said he frequently visited friends at a nearby apartment complex.
He left in August 2000, telling Hagelberg he was returning to Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, local law enforcement officials confirmed they had detained three area men, two in Denver and one in Douglas County.
The Denver Sheriff's Department detained two brothers who were born in Saudi Arabia but were last living in Denver.
Sami Talal Alshaalan, 28, was being held on a warrant for disturbing the peace. Sattan Talal Alshaalan, 23, was being held for failing to appear in court on a traffic offense.
The brothers were taken into custody Saturday night at Denver International Airport. Police Sgt. Tony Lombard said Sami Talal Alshaalan arrived at DIA from Saudi Arabia and his brother, Sattan, was waiting for him.
Agents from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service initially cleared them, but Denver authorities took them into custody because they were wanted on the warrants, Lombard said.
The INS has placed a retainer on them, said Undersheriff Fred Oliva, the director of corrections. When they bail out of jail, the INS will take them into custody.
INS officials declined to comment.
Douglas County Sheriff's Sgt. Tim Moore confirmed an INS hold was placed on Ibrahim Al-Fraihi after he was arrested in Denver last week, but he said Al-Fraihi will first face charges that he passed bad checks in the county six years ago. INS officials are checking to see whether they put a hold on the right man, Moore said.
"All we know is that this has something to do with a criminal investigation," he said. "We know he had a warrant for us, but the INS isn't sure if this is the guy they want. They put a hold on him pretty quickly, though."
News writers Hector Gutierrez, Robert Sanchez, Karen Abbott, Mike Patty, Burt Hubbard and Lynn Bartels contributed to this story.
September 18, 2001 <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/america_under_attack/article/0,1299,DRMN_664_827007,00.html>
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