Judge delays trial of Triangle terrorism suspects

Daniel Patrick Boyd, 39, his sons, Dylan Boyd, 22, and Zakariya "Zak" Boyd, 20, and four other men – Hysen Sherifi, 24, Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, 22, Ziyad Yaghi, 21, and Anes Subasic, 33 – were indicted in July on charges that they plotted to murder, kidnap, maim and injure people overseas.

An eighth suspect, Jude Kenan Mohammad, 20, is believed to be in Pakistan.

Daniel Boyd and Sherifi also are charged with planning an attack on the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va.

The trial had been scheduled to start on Sept. 27, but Chief U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan decided to delay the trial to Sept. 19, 2011, after several defendants asked for more time to prepare for trial.

Defense attorneys have complained that the evidence turned over by prosecutors is very disorganized. They also said the volume of the evidence in the case – the FBI taped about 750 hours of conversations between the men and seized about two dozen computers – and the fact that they need to interview witnesses overseas necessitated a delay in the trial.

"This terrorism prosecution has revealed itself as so unusual and complex due to the nature of the prosecution and the existence of novel questions of fact and law that, under the circumstances now presented, it is unreasonable to expect adequate preparation for pretrial proceedings or for the trial itself within the time limits established by the (Speedy Trial) Act," Flanagan wrote in her ruling.