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Iowa mother aware her son faced legal peril, fugitive’s lawyer testifies
Police say mom aided son’s escape out of country after ankle monitor cut
Aug. 2, 2023 5:41 pm, Updated: Aug. 3, 2023 4:40 pm
Updated 8/3
IOWA CITY — The attorney for an Iowa man who fled the country before his attempted murder and robbery trial testified Wednesday that his client’s mother — on trial this week for aiding his escape — was well aware of his serious charges, possible lengthy prison sentence and that a plea deal had been offered.
Patrick McAreavy, lawyer for Ali Younes, 20, charged with attempted murder, first-degree robbery and first-degree theft for an incident on the University of Iowa campus, was an unusual witness for the prosecution because lawyers can’t reveal information related to their client’s case. But the confidentiality rule doesn’t apply to the client’s parents, who had attended his pretrial hearings, and McAreavy was ordered by the judge to testify for the prosecution.
McAreavy said that during those meetings, Lima Khairi Mohammad Younes, 45, and Alfred Ali Mohammad Younes, 49, also charged with helping son flee, heard discussions of bail conditions. In June 2022, a judge lowered bail for Ali Younes from $350,000 to $125,000 and ordered him upon release to wear a GPS ankle monitor while on home confinement at his parents’ house in Sutherland, which is in the northwest part of Iowa.
The mother was aware that her son only could go to meetings with his lawyer and to court hearings, and had to get permission for other travel, McAreavy said.
Lima Younes is charged with escape from custody, a felony. She is accused of aiding and abetting her son to intentionally escape the GPS-monitored house arrest. If convicted, she faces up to five years in prison.
The prosecution continues its case Thursday. The trial may wrap up Friday in Johnson County District Court.
Lima Younes also attended pretrial conferences for her son May 4 and 5. During those meetings, McAreavy said he discussed the options of going to trial and whether to accept a plea agreement. He told the family that Ali, if convicted, faced up to 60 years, and 35 of those would be mandatory before being eligible for parole.
McAreavy said he also went over a plea offer for 35 years on second-degree robbery and attempted murder. He asked the family to think it over and give him a decision by May 8 because the deadline for the plea was the next day.
On cross exam, McAreavy said Ali Younes had complied with bail conditions from June 2022 until May 6 — when his ankle monitor was cut and he fled to Jordan, where he remains a fugitive.
Amanda Ahrenstorff, an Iowa Department of Corrections probation and parole officer, testified she received a text alert for a “strap tamper” about 8:58 a.m. May 6 regarding Ali Younes’ monitor. She tried to contact him but couldn’t, and also couldn’t reach his parents. She then asked the O’Brien County Sheriff’s Office to conduct a check at their Sutherland home but nobody was home.
Ahrenstorff later in the day heard back from Lima Younes, who claimed her son was home alone and they were returning from Davenport. About five minutes later, Alfred Younes called and left a voicemail, saying his son’s phone had an issue, explaining why he didn’t call her, Ahrenstorff said.
During Ali Younes house arrest, he had 39 strap tamper alerts and 19 curfew alerts — leaving house without permission, Ahrenstorff testified.
UI Police Detective Ian Mallory testified about tracking a GMC Arcadia that was missing from the Younes’ home after the ankle monitor was cut. He used the OnStar device on the vehicle and discovered it was at a dealership in Omaha, Neb.
The dealer told him Lima and Alfred Younes sold him the Arcadia for $42,000. They received a check for about $21,000 because they still owed half on the loan when they purchased it in 2022.
Mallory said the dealer said they didn’t buy another vehicle. They arrived at the dealership in a white Chrysler Pacifica minivan, which later police found they had rented May 4.
Mallory also learned while he and another officer were driving to Sutherland that Alfred’s cellphone was detected outside Rockford, Ill., on Highway 20 and headed toward Dubuque. With information police had, they knew the Younes vehicle was returning from Chicago, where later they learned Ali Younes had boarded a flight to Jordan with his grandmother.
According to court documents, Lima Younes was later arrested May 9, by UI police on a warrant with assistance from the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office and charged.
Alfred Younes was also arrested May 9 on a warrant by Omaha Police Department’s Fugitive Apprehension Unit and the Omaha Airport Authority while he was attempting to board a flight in Omaha, according to court documents. He was headed to Amman, Jordan. He was extradited back to Johnson County in July and charged with escape from custody. His arraignment is Aug. 14.
Ali Younes couldn’t be extradited from Jordan because the United States doesn’t have an extradition treaty with that country, according to police. He was accused of strangling a woman on the UI campus until she lost consciousness and then stealing her earrings, valued at $20,000, in 2022.
Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com
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