Hammad Memon's father,
Dr. Iqbal Memon was arrested by the Madison Police Department late Friday and charged with hindering prosecution after police foundhis son had left Alabama ahead of the June 18 murder trial.
Dr. Memon, a pediatrician in Athens, was booked into the Madison County Jail late Friday night. His bond was set at $15,000.
Hammad Memon had been allowed to live at home in Madison pending the murder trial. But police found that
Hammad Memon, his mother and six-year-old sister had left Alabama sometime between Wednesday and Thursday.
They were captured by police in Dallas on Friday. Their departure came after Memon, who holds citizenship in Pakistan, received a package authorities suspect contained a passport from the Pakistan Embassy.
His mother, Safia Memon, remained in the Dallas County jail as of late Saturday, according to jail records. She also faces charges of hindering prosecution and a $15,000 bond.
Bruce Gardner, Memon's attorney, said he hasn't seen the evidence concerning any details of the alleged flight, but he can understand how a parent might react.
"It's extremely rare, but I certainly have to say that I understand the motivation behind it, particularly on the part of the mother," Gardner said. "I mean we're looking at a very tough prison sentence for Hammad. I'm sure the prospect of seeing her son go into an Alabama state prison and realizing it's quite likely the last time he ever sees the light of day, generates something like this.
"It was a bad, bad situation, now it's awful."
Memon is charged with shooting 14-year-old classmate Todd Brown in the back of the head during a class change at Discovery Middle School in Madison. The shooting happened two years ago.
Memon was 14 at the time of the shooting, but prosecutors asked and a judge agreed that Memon stand trial as an adult.
The national search began Friday after a delivery driver, who had dropped a package at Memon's house on Wednesday, tipped Madison police about a possible passport delivery, according to court records.
Police in Dallas, with help from the FBI, tracked the family through Louisiana and into Texas by pinging the mother's cell phone.
Madison County Assistant District Attorney Tim Gann said that Memon ran four blocks to avoid arrest and was caught hiding in a bathroom. Gann said
Memon and his mother had in their possession Pakistani passports and a large amount of cash.
Gann said he is convinced the Memons were attempting to flee the United States and possibly return to Pakistan.
[...]
The Memons have four children and Hammad is the oldest. Memon's 6-year-old sister, who was with the mother and her brother in Dallas, was apparently turned over to relatives in Texas after her mother's arrest.
A hindering prosecution charge in Alabama is a Class C felony and carries a possible sentence of one to 10 years in prison.
[...]
Gardner has argued that Memon was suffering from serious depression at the time of the shooting and should be hospitalized rather than placed in an adult jail. But state courts have twice rejected appeals and have ruled that Memon may stand trial as an adult.
When Madison police could not find Memon, Gann on Friday petitioned Madison County Circuit Court Judge Karen Hall to revoke Memon's bond. Hall ordered the bond revoked around lunchtime and issued an arrest order.
Gann said he will now ask the court to deny bond for Hammad Memon in order to keep him in jail until his trial date.
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Originally Posted by carolinablue
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