Convicted Garden Grove terrorist charged with selling meth

RIVERSIDE, California – A federal grand jury today indicted an Orange County man for allegedly selling pound quantities of methamphetamine while he was on supervised release following a 2009 terrorism conviction.

Ahmed Binyamin Alasiri, also known as Kevin Lamar James, a 44-year-old Garden Grove resident, was charged in an indictment with two counts of distribution of methamphetamine.

Alasiri was arrested in this case on August 21, pursuant to a criminal complaint that accused him of narcotics trafficking. At a hearing on August 24, he was ordered detained pending the outcome of the case.

According to court documents, on July 24, Alasiri sold approximately one pound of methamphetamine – which later was determined to be 96 percent pure – to a buyer for $3,700. On August 6, Alasiri allegedly again sold one pound of methamphetamine to the same buyer for $3,700. Laboratory analysis of the second purchase showed that the methamphetamine was 98 percent pure.

Alasiri is currently on supervised release after completing a 16-year federal prison sentence for conspiracy to levy war against the United States through terrorism. Alasiri’s co-conspirators committed numerous armed robberies of gas stations to raise money for attacks Alasari had planned on U.S. military operations and Israeli and Jewish facilities in Southern California. Alasiri completed his prison sentence in September 2019.

Alasiri is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment on September 14.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Each count of distribution of methamphetamine carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) in Orange County, with assistance from the following JTTF agencies and other partners: the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the United States Probation Office, the United States Bureau of Prisons, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Garden Grove Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, the California Highway Patrol, the United States Department of Defense, and the Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dennise D. Willett of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section.