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USF GRAD CONVICTED IN GUN CASE

Pictures of him posing with a rifle could bring the Moroccan up to 33 months in prison.
 
Published April 3, 2008

Karim Moussaoui called it "a Kodak moment," 2 1/2 minutes posing with a rifle at a gun range.

Prosecutors called it a crime, a violation of his student visa. Now those 2 1/2 minutes could cost the 28-year-old University of South Florida graduate as much as 33 months in federal prison.

A jury convicted him of the charge on Wednesday, and he's scheduled to be sentenced July 14.

"We're very disappointed, of course, in the verdict, but I thought they were thoughtful and returned a verdict that was just," said defense attorney Deeann Athan.

U.S. District Judge James Whittemore revoked Moussaoui's bail and ordered him into immediate custody. The judge said he had concerns that Moussaoui posed a flight risk.

Moussaoui graduated from USF in December, has no ties to the area and planned to return to Morocco and work for his father.

Athan said she's considering an appeal and will work on a bail motion with new conditions of release to satisfy the judge.

Prosecutors relied upon two pieces of key evidence during the three-day trial to prove their case. They used surveillance footage from the Shoot Straight gun range on July 19 and a photograph of Moussaoui holding the rifle and smiling for a camera.

Federal investigators recovered the picture after searching the home computer of Youssef Megahed, 22, a suspended USF student who is scheduled for trial April 28 on an explosives charge. Megahed, an Egyptian national, is a legal resident and had a membership to the gun range.Moussaoui said he had never been inside a gun shop and asked to tag along.

Athan reminded jurors during closing statements that Moussaoui's case had nothing to do with the explosives charges.