Church incident not the only potential terrorist activity in Pelham this year, Says Lt. Scott Tucker

By Neil Wagnor

The ten-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 brought the threat of terrorism back to the front of people's minds, but a small Alabama town had already gotten a reminder nearly a month earlier. Less than a month before the tenth anniversary of Sept. 11, Pelham, Ala., had a terrorism scare when a man entered a local church and began threatening church employees based on visions he claimed he was seeing. The man was believed to have a mental disability, and a warrant was issued on charges of terrorist activity. But the incident wasn't the first threat of terrorism the town had seen this year.

Late this summer, the Pelham Police Department were working in conjunction with federal officials to investigate an Uzbek national who was staying at an Extended Stay motel in Pelham. Ulugbek Kodirov, 21, an Uzbekistan native, was charged with four counts of threatening the life of President Barack Obama during a week in mid-July.

An indictment was filed in the U.S. District Court for Kodirov threatening the president on four different days in July. He was also charged with being an illegal alien that was in possession of a firearm and illegally having a fully automatic weapon. The firearm charges referred to a Sendra Corp. Model M15-A1 rifle, said U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance. He also reportedly had four grenades, though the powder was not in them. He was indicted near the end of July.

Pelham Police Department detective Lieutenant Scott Tucker said local authorities and federal officials worked together to investigate Kodirov, though federal authorities ultimately took charge of the case. Kodirov was arrested by police at a motel after Tucker and Pelham police said he received the M15 machine gun from an undercover agent.

Pelham Police Department detective Lieutenant Scott Tucker said local authorities and federal officials worked together to investigate Kodirov, though federal authorities ultimately took charge of the case. Kodirov was arrested by police at a motel after Tucker and Pelham police said he received the M15 machine gun from an undercover agent.

Attorney Vance commended Lt. Tucker and the Pelham Police Department, as well as the federal authorities, for thwarting a potential attack just weeks before the tenth anniversary of Sept. 11. The indictment did not involve terrorism charges, though sources said Kodirov had expressed support for Islamic extremists and often viewed Jihadist websites.

"I commend the FBI, Secret Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Leeds and Pelham police departments, the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, and all members of the Northern District of Alabama's Joint Terrorism Task Force for their outstanding work," Vance wrote, according to the Pelham Reporter.

If a person is convicted of threatening the president, the sentence is a maximum of five years for each threat. That means Kodirov could face up to 20 years in prison, with each weapons charge potentially adding another 10 years.

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