BELCHERTOWN — A Hadley man accused of making threats against the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a student has been deemed dangerous by a district court judge, and will continue to be held without bail.
Abdul Ismail, 27, appeared Tuesday for a dangerousness hearing in Eastern Hampshire District Court after he was arrested on April 12. Campus police allege that Ismail told a UMass student he was a terrorist, that she would be his first victim and that he would blow up her high-rise dorm building.
Ismail’s lawyer, Alan Rubin, said during the hearing before Judge Patricia Poehler that Ismail’s remarks may have been misunderstood, and that the prosecution’s case was based on hearsay and little details.
“Beyond that, there is not a shred of evidence that Mr. Ismail was doing anything wrong, that he was a terrorist,” Rubin told the judge. “There’s no evidence here that he actually presents a danger.”
Poehler, however, deemed that Ismail posed enough of a risk to justify holding him in custody without any conditions for his release. Ismail can appeal that decision in superior court.
Federal and state authorities are also investigating the case, according to Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Andrew Covington.
Poehler’s decision was based on the testimony of two UMass police officers and a 911 recording of the student who said Ismail threatened her.
Patrol officer Alexandra Wysocki testified Tuesday that after 11 p.m. on April 11, she was called to Coolidge residence hall, where a student said she had been threatened by a man she had met through the online dating app Tinder.
According to Wysocki, the student said Ismail came to her dorm room while they were on a second date together, and asked to use her computer and printer. The student told Wysocki that Ismail said he wanted to print a letter about bombings in Syria. The student said she refused, Wysocki testified, and then alleged that Ismail threatened her.
“He said, ‘I’m a terrorist,’” Wysocki told the judge. When the student told Ismail to leave, she alleged that he threatened “she would be his first victim and he would blow up her building,” according to Wysocki.
Wysocki said the student asked Ismail if he was joking, and the student said Ismail laughed. The student then walked Ismail out of the building and called the police, Wysocki said.
Lt. Michael Malouin testified that he briefly questioned Ismail after his arrest the following day, and that Ismail said he had been joking and denied having made threats.
Rubin, Ismail’s lawyer, declined to speak to the Gazette about the case. In court, he lamented that the student who reported the incident wasn’t in court to testify, and cautioned the court against overreaction or Islamophobia.
Ismail came to the United States as an asylum seeker from Ghana, Rubin said. Immigration officials found that Ismail had a legitimate claim for asylum, and he was hoping to obtain permanent residency in the near future, according to Rubin. With the current charges he’s facing, however, Rubin said that may change.
Ismail’s next court hearing is scheduled for May 15.
Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.