Crime & Safety

14 Men Indicted on Piracy Charges in Hijacking of Local Couple's Yacht

The 13 Somalis and one Yemini are also indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit kidnapping for allegedly hijacking a yacht owned by Del Rey Yacht Club members and St. Monica Church parishioners Jean and Scott Adam.

A federal grand jury in Virginia has indicted 13 Somalis and one Yemeni on charges of piracy and conspiracy to commit kidnapping for allegedly hijacking a yacht with four U.S. citizens aboard, including Del Rey Yacht Club members and St. Monica Church parishioners Jean and Scott Adam, officials announced Thursday.

The Adams, who were on a worldwide sailing adventure that included distributing Bibles, and a Seattle couple who were aboard their yacht were shot and killed before their release could be secured.

"This is a horrific crime, involving the armed hijacking of an American ship and the slaughter of American citizens," U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Neil H. MacBride said in a statement released Thursday. "The alleged pirates will now face justice in an American courtroom."

The indictment was returned Tuesday and remained sealed until the defendants made their initial appearances Thursday before a magistrate in Norfolk, VA.

The three-count indictment alleged that the 14 pirates boarded the yacht Quest owned by the Adams on Feb. 18 and held them and the Seattle couple, Phyllis Macay and Robert Riggle, hostage for five days. The U.S. military was negotiating with the alleged pirates, but at least one of them aboard the Quest fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the U.S. Navy ship USS Sterett. At least three men on the Quest allegedly shot and killed all four of the hostages before they could be rescued.

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The indictment also stated that the alleged pirates possessed a rocket-propelled grenade with three live rounds and several AK-47 and FAL assault rifles. It also stated that they threw other weapons overboard before being taken into custody.

All 14 men were charged with piracy, which carries a mandatory penalty of life in prison. They also were charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping, which also carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. The indictment also accused them of using a weapon, namely the rocket-propelled grenade, during a crime of violence, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison.

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"These 14 men are alleged to have been willing to do anything, including killing their hostages, in a vain attempt to obtain ransom," said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Janice Fedarcyk of the FBI's New York field office, which helped conduct the investigation. "Modern day piracy has real and serious consequences, disrupting commerce and threatening Americans' lives. It is a crime against the international community, a form of terrorism on the high seas. Today's charges should send a clear message to those who attempt to engage in piracy against Americans or American vessels: Even on the open ocean, you are not beyond the reach of American justice."

The Adams had been members of the Del Rey Yacht Club in Marina del Rey since 2001 and the yacht club served as their home away from home and stateside mail drop since they departed in 2004 on their worldwide voyage to distribute Bibles.

Though they were on a mission to distribute Bibles, the svquest.com website that chronicled their sailing adventure showed a couple enjoying their golden years. Jean wrote how she got her dive certification in Hawaii in 2009, and the site is full of underwater photos she took of octopus in Fiji, clown triggerfish and clown anemonefish in New Zealand, and jellyfish in Palau.

Other photos show the couple playing with their granchildren in San Diego, watching racehorses at the Happy Valley Race Track in Hong Kong and enjoying exotic meals with friends in Malaysia and other parts of the world.

A funeral service for the couple was held Saturday at St. Monica Church in Santa Monica, where they were active parishioners. Two of Jean's sons attended St. Monica Catholic High School, and the couple made donations in 2008-09 and 2009-10 to the church's Partners in Mission effort benefiting St. Monica Catholic High School. Jean, a former dentist, also used to sing in the church choir.


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