A Palestinian man who was arrested in Miller County last year after being stopped for driving 96 in a 75 mile per hour zone was sentenced Friday to time served plus 10 years by a federal judge in Texarkana.
U.S. District Judge Susan O. Hickey said she expects immigration officials to deport Ali and that the ten days added to his time already served will give them time to make that determination and any related arrangements.
Ali was stopped at 8:24 a.m. as he traveled southbound on I-49 near mile marker 23 in Miller County, according to court documents. Ali presented the trooper with two expired driver’s licenses from two different states. Ali was in possession of a Glock semi-automatic handgun determined to have been stolen and more than $7,000 in cash. Found during a search of the car were three boxes of tracking devices and a Palestinian passport.
According to court records, Ali legally came to the U.S. in 2014 on a non-immigrant student visa which had expired.
“As a person illegally and unlawfully present in the United States, the defendant is prohibited from possessing a firearm,” Ali’s plea agreement states.
Ali was represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Alex Wynn. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Harris prosecuted the case.
Ali has a charge of theft of firearm pending in Miller County circuit court. He is scheduled to appear in court on that case in May.
