Crime & Safety

Pirate Leader Sentenced to Life in Prison for Attack on Marina del Rey Sailors

The leader of a band of pirates is sentenced to life in prison along with another pirate for their roles in a hijacking that left four Americans dead, including Del Rey Yacht Club members Jean and Scott Adam.

The leader of a band of Somali pirates was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday along with another pirate – bringing to four the number of pirates sentenced this week for their roles in a February high seas attack that left four Americans dead, including Del Rey Yacht Club members Jean and Scott Adam.

Pirate leader Mohamud Salad Ali, 35, of Somalia, previously pleaded guilty in May to a piracy charge and to a charge of hostage taking resulting in death. He was sentenced to concurrent life sentences on both charges by U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis.

Ali admitted that he served as the leader of the piracy operation, according to court documents.

“The boarding of the Quest by 19 armed and desperate men, unwilling to negotiate and intent on a ransom for the Quest and its crew set the stage for the violence and tragic murders that followed,” said Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, in a statement. “Mohamud Salad Ali led the pirate attack, and his refusal to release the four Americans – even with the opportunity to proceed to Somalia with the Quest – reveals the callous regard that Somali pirates have for their hostages and the threat they pose to any U.S. vessel on the high seas.”

Ahmed Sala Ali Burale, 22, of Somalia, also was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty in May to a piracy charge. Two other pirates were sentenced Monday and several more who have pleaded guilty are expected to be sentenced later this fall.

Ali and Burale both stated in their plea agreements that they did not shoot the four Americans. Burale admitted joining the group of pirates to make money and acknowledged carrying an AK-47 rifle without a stock during the incident. He also said that when the shooting started, he rushed to try to stop it by grabbing a shooter's rifle and pushing the barrel upward.

Jean and Scott Adam were aboard their 58-foot yacht S/V Quest with Seattle couple Phyllis Macay and Robert Riggle when they were hijacked in February by 19 Somali pirates about 900 miles from Somalia. U.S. warships overtook the pirates and Ali and skiff driver Muhidin Salad Omar boarded the USS Sterett to negotiate.

U.S. military officials told the men they do not pay ransoms, but they could keep the yacht if they released the hostages. The conspirators refused to release the hostages because they believed they would get little money for the yacht, court documents said.

As negotiations broke down, a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at the USS Sterett and at the same time three pirates started opening fire on the hostages, according to court documents.

U.S. special forces quickly boarded the Quest and found all the hostages had been shot. Fifteen pirates were taken into custody, including a juvenile who has not been charged. Two pirates were found already dead on the yacht and two more were killed when U.S. forces were clearing the vessel.

Three alleged pirates – Ahmed Muse Salad, aka “Afmagalo,” 25; Abukar Osman Beyle, 20; and Shani Nurani Shiekh Abrar, 29 – have been charged in a 26-count superseding indictment with the kidnapping, hostage-taking and murder of the four Americans. An alleged ransom negotiator, Mohammad Saaili Shibin, 50, of Somalia, also was arrested in Somalia and brought to the United States to face charges.

Jean and Scott Adam had been members of the Marina del Rey-based Del Rey Yacht club since 2001. They departed in 2004 on a worldwide voyage that included the distribution of Bibles. A funeral service was held for them in March at St. Monica, where Jean used to sing in the church choir.

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