Court documents reveal parents misled police, helped son escape to Jordan

IOWA CITY — The parents of a 19-year-old man, charged with attempting to kill a woman on the University of Iowa campus last year, misled authorities on the whereabouts of their son while helping him leave the country a week before his trial in Johnson County District Court.

A criminal complaint for Lima Khairi Mohammad Younes, 45, of Sutherland, in northwest Iowa, reveals how she and her husband, Alfred Younes, sold one of their vehicles for $20,000 on May 3 and then rented a Chrysler Pacifica minivan to take their son, Ali Younes, to O’Hare Airport in Chicago so he could fly to Jordan.

Ali Younes is charged with attempted murder, first-degree robbery and first-degree theft. He is accused of tackling a woman on the UI campus in April 2022, choking her to unconsciousness and then stealing her earrings, valued at $20,000.

On May 6, Lima left her phone at home and her husband turned off his phone after they rented the Pacifica, the complaint stated. A probation officer attempted to make contact with Ali Younes and then his parents but couldn’t reach them.

After Alfred and Lima — along with the Youneses’ 17-year-old daughter, and a female relative, Wafe Najim — drove to O’Hare, Ali’s probation officer called his father. His mother answered and said they were driving back from Davenport and said Ali was at their residence in Sutherland.

But the “geolocate” on Alfred’s phone indicated the phone was on Highway 20 traveling from Chicago to Dubuque, the complaint stated. Dubuque police stopped the van, and Alfred told police they were coming back from O’Hare after dropping off Najim for a flight to Canada.

At the time, investigators knew Najim didn’t go to Canada and had boarded a flight to Jordan.

That same day, May 6, the Iowa State Patrol’s tactical team obtained a search warrant for the family’s home in Sutherland, where UI police found Ali’s ankle monitor in the kitchen after it had been cut off, both of Ali’s phones with a missing SIM card, and Lima’s phone, according to the complaint.

Officers also found a bedroom safe in the family home that contained passports and passport photos for the family. The safe contained no cash.

The next day, May 7, UI police interviewed the Youneses’ daughter. She said the family had had “a lot of luggage” in the van when driving to O’Hare, according to the complaint.

“I didn’t see Ali in the van, and I don’t think he would have survived being under that many bags,” the daughter told police.

The teenage daughter said she and her parents believed Ali took cash out of her parent’s safe and then walked to a neighboring town. She also said her future plans included spending more time with her family in Jordan.

On May 8, investigators received information that Ali Younes and Najim had flown to Amman, Jordan, from O’Hare at 8:20 p.m. May 6, the complaint stated. Ali Younes used his Jordan passport to board the flight and sat next to Najim for the flight.

Federal investigators told UI police that Ali Younes paid for his ticket with cash.

On Tuesday, UI police were notified Alfred Younes had purchased a plane ticket from Omaha to Chicago and then a connecting flight to Amman, Jordan. He was arrested by the Omaha police fugitive apprehension unit and the Omaha Airport Authority while attempting to board his Tuesday flight to Chicago.

Charges

Lima Younes was charged Thursday with escape from custody — felon. She is accused of aiding and abetting her son, who is charged with felonies, to intentionally escape the Department of Corrections GPS monitoring house arrest.

Alfred Younes will be extradited to Johnson County to face the same charge as his wife.

Bond review

Last June, after a contested bond review hearing, 6th Judicial District Judge Christopher Bruns modified Ali Younes’ request to lower his $350,000 bail, according to court documents.

Bruns reduced the bail to $125,000 and released him on several conditions, including a GPS monitor, requirements to surrender his passport and be under home confinement with his family in O'Brien County pending trial, according to the judge’s order.

The Johnson County Attorney's Office was notified Saturday that Younes had cut off the ankle monitor.

Younes is accused of following a woman on the University of Iowa campus on April 25, 2022, tackling her near the University of Iowa Art Building West, choking her until she lost consciousness and stealing her earrings valued at $20,000.

At the time, Younes lived in a university residence hall, according to the criminal complaint.

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