Crime & Safety

More Pirates Tied to Local Couple's Murder Sentenced

The Somali men played integral roles in the hijacking of an American yacht owned by a Marina del Rey couple, but did not personally shoot and kill the hostages, prosecutors said.

A Somali pirate who ordered the firing of a rocket-propelled grenade at a Navy ship as it attempted to rescue Americans—including a Marina del Rey couple—from a hijacking off the coast of the Arabian Peninsula will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

The couple—former , —were among the four Americans who were eventually murdered while taken hostage by a band of 19 pirates aboard their yacht, the Quest.

Mohamud Hirs Issa Ali, 32, was sentenced to life in prison Thursday in Norfolk federal court, as was Jilani Abdiali, 20.

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Ali and Abdiali were among the 11 pirates who have pleaded guilty to piracy. Four others have also been  sentenced to life behind bars. The remaining two were set to be sentenced Friday, but the hearing was postponed, the Associated Press reported.

"It was the first time U.S. citizens have been killed in the pirate attacks that have plagued the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean in recent years," the Associated Press reported. "The Americans were killed after U.S. warships started shadowing the Quest and negotiations between the Navy and the pirates broke down."

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Ali pled guilty in May to piracy and hostage taking resulting in death. Abdiali also pled guilty in May to piracy.

Prosecutors said, however, that neither Ali or Abdiali personally shot or ordered the shooting of the four Americans in February.

Abdilai did admit in court that he was the commander of the pirate ship when it left Somalia. The band seized the Quest about 840 miles out of Somalia, and Ali said he transferred the pirates and a number of weapons over to the Quest via a skiff, according to United States Attorney's Office.

He carried an AK-47, which he used for guard duty over the hostages, and he ordered a co-defendant to fire an RPG toward the Navy vessel while the Navy was attempting to secure the hostages’ release through negotiations with the conspirators, according to U.S. Attorney's Office.

A press release issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office was not as clear about Abdilai's role in the attack. The Associated Press reported that he "was a former electrician ... [who] never carried a weapon ... it was his job to use his psychic abilities to guide their boat."

“As Somali pirates expand their territory, they place more individuals’ lives at risk,” U.S. Attorney MacBride said in a statement. “These men willingly joined this group of pirates out of greed, knowing full well that their actions could—and did— lead to the death of their hostages. They will spend their lives in prison for what they willingly chose to do and the lifetime of suffering and pain they thrust on the victims’ loved ones.”

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