JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A defense attorney is asking a federal judge to uphold a magistrate’s decision to grant bail to a Russian-born college student accused of building bombs in his central Pennsylvania apartment.
Eighteen-year-old Vladislav Miftakhov, a Penn State-Altoona student, has been jailed since his Jan. 24 arrest.
At a hearing Monday, a federal magistrate said he apparently set off explosions for kicks and didn’t intend to harm anyone. Prosecutors appealed, saying he was a danger to the community and might flee if he is allowed to move back to his family’s home in San Carlos, Calif.
The (Altoona) Mirror (https://bit.ly/NdwtjU ) reports that public defender Christopher Brown is disputing prosecutors’ portrait of his client as a loner, calling him “a bright young man who comes from a loving family.”
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Information from: Altoona Mirror, https://www.altoonamirror.com
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