Ammon News - CHICAGO - Jordanian national Ismail al-Gawasmi arrested in Chicago Thursday night was in a dispute with an acquaintance in January, 2008, failure to appear in court for an Oct. 5 jury trial in connection to the incident led to an issuance of a warrant against him by Wright County Sheriff’s office.

The alleged threats did not entail a "big plot or conspiracy," according to Wright County Sheriff's Sgt. Michael Steffer.

According to court documents, a man called 911 at about 11 p.m. on Jan. 18, 2008 to report that 36-year-old Ismail Hashem Alqawasmi of Richfield was outside his home in St. Michael, Minn.

Alqawasmi is accused of banging on the door of his acquaintance, Moatasim El-Khatib, and threatening to cut him with a knife if he didn't come out to talk. The man said Alqawasmi and his wife, 25-year-old Mariam Abumayaleh, then got in a car and drove away. He said he recognized Alqawasmi by his voice.

When a sheriff's deputy arrived, he found Alqawasmi and his wife in a car near the home. The deputy also found a black plastic-handled steak knife on the stairs near the door. Alqawasmi admitted to the deputy that he had gone up to the man's door.

Alqawasmi was supposed to appear for a jury trial on Oct. 5, 2009, in Buffalo, Minn., and when he didn't up, a warrant was issued, according to the Wright County Sheriff's Office.

Chicago police said Alqawasmi was arrested at 8 p.m. Thursday at O'Hare after he arrived from Amman, Jordan on a Royal Jordanian Airlines flight.

After he arrived, a customs official conducting a name check found an active warrant from Wright County for assault and making "terroristic threats," police said.

Customs officials seized Alqawasmi's Jordanian passport and Chicago police took him into custody. He was scheduled to appear in court Friday morning at the Cook County Criminal Courthouse.

The case will be turned over to Minnesota authorities.

According to court documents, Alqawasmi has been charged with making terroristic threats and with 5th-degree assault committing an act with intent to cause fear of bodily harm or death. If convicted of both charges, he could receive a maximum combined sentence of five years and 90 days in prison and fines of $11,000.

Under Minnesota statutes, a person can be charged with terroristic threats if he threatens to commit any crime of violence with the purpose of terrorizing another.

* Source: WCCO

** Ismail al-Gawasmi Chicago police booking photo