Man trespassing on school grounds leads to local, federal probes
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office this weekend said that on November 9, deputies responded to a call from Cypress Lake Middle School regarding a man discovered walking around the campus without permission.
When the man, Mohammed Hossain, 38, was approached by a staff member, he asked the staff member what time school started, when students and staff were present and what time everyone leaves for the day, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The staffer asked Hossain if he had a child attending the school and Hossain replied no, that he was “just looking around.” The staff member told Hossain he would have to leave the premises as he had no legitimate reason to be there. Hossain refused to leave and staffers were forced to call 911.
At that point, Hossain left the school campus, but was quickly located a short distance away by responding deputies, authorities said. School staffers positively identified Hossain as the individual who refused to leave campus, they said. Hossain was arrested for trespassing on school grounds. A bag Hossain was carrying contained personal items and numerous documents. No weapons were located, authorities said.
The sheriff’s office immediately assigned a detective to the case. During a review of the papers that were in Hossain’s bag, the detective found a document reflecting that Hossain had applied at Everglades University in Sarasota to study aviation management. Hossain had received a reply letter from the university stating that it no longer accepted applications for the Sarasota Campus for Aviation Management. The sheriff’s office notified the Joint Terrorism Task Force of its findings.
The detective also discovered that Hossain had an outstanding immigration warrant with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and immediately notified ICE and the FBI of the findings.
Records reveal Hossain was born in Bangladesh and entered the United States in 1997.
On December 18, 2009, Hossain, who had been in custody the entire time, entered a no contest plea in Lee County Court to the Trespassing charge and was then immediately remanded to the custody of ICE.
The FBI tells the Lee County Sheriff’s Office its investigation shows that Hossain has no connection to any ancillary group or concern.
“This demonstrates the training and working relationships we enjoy with the School District and our Federal counterparts,” said Sheriff Mike Scott. “I want the citizens of Lee County to know that we are committed to keeping our schools safe and we’ll leave no stone unturned when that safety is jeopardized.”