Aman admitted transporting a stolen Livingston school bus across state lines, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger announced last week.
Bader Alzahrani, 24, of Saudi Arabia, pleaded guilty on August 14, before U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin in Newark federal court, to one count of an indictment charging him with interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle.
According to documents filed in this case, on January 15, 2023, a break-in was reported to an unoccupied residential home in Livingston. During a search of a backpack in that home, law enforcement saw a Saudi Arabian passport with the name Bader Alzahrani, along with other items that appeared to belong to Alzahrani.
On January 17, the Livingston Public Schools Board of Education reported that a school bus was stolen from a parking lot across the street from the unoccupied residential home where the break-in was reported.
During the ensuing investigation, law enforcement located Alzahrani in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. After Alzahrani was taken into custody, law enforcement searched him and recovered the keys to the stolen school bus.
The count ofpossession of a stolen vehicle is punishable by a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and carries a fine of up to $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for September 9.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI and task force officers of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James Dennehy in Newark, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea. He also thanked special agents of the FBI Field Office in Washington, D.C., under the direction of assistant director in charge David Sunberg; special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of acting special agent in charge William Walker; members of the Essex County prosecutor’s office, under the direction of acting prosecutor Theodore Stephens; members of the Monroe County, Pennsylvania Office of the District Attorney, under the direction of District Attorney Mike Mancuso; members of the Livingston Police Department, under the direction of Police Chief Gary Marshuetz; and members of the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Colonel Patrick Callahan.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Levin, co-chief of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.
