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Sep 25, 2009 5:45 pm US/Central
Friends: No Idea "Sam" Smadi Was A Terrorist
ITALY (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
Shock and bewilderment are the only words to describe the reaction friends and neighbors of Hosam Smadi are feeling today.
The terror suspect was living in the Ellis County town of Italy, about 45 miles south of Dallas.
In the igloo-looking Monolithic Dome apartments on Dale Evans Drive, almost everyone knows the teenager they call "Sam."
Friends and acquaintances say he was a typical young adult: he was popular with girls and liked to party.
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He used to live with his brother in California, they say, and moved here two years ago.
David South, who owns the apartment complex in Italy, said Smadi had
been a tenant since April 2008. He had a California driver's license
when he signed the lease and passed background checks, South said.
Though he never had any complaints about Smadi, South said the
19-year-old recently had fallen six weeks behind on rent and was in the
process of moving out when he was arrested.
He had also been arrested earlier in September. Ellis County Sheriff's Department records show Smadi was arrested after midnight on September 10 for not having a driver's license or insurance for his car.
Friends in Italy say he practiced his Muslim faith and fasted during Ramadan, but never gave any indication of disdain for this country.
"I really cared about Sam," said Kelly Kines. She was his co-worker, his neighbor, and even shared internet phone service with the 19-year old terror suspect.
But she knew nothing about a terror plan until an FBI agent called her.
"He was really good putting up a front, I guess. Because he's totally different than the Sam we know," she said.
The Sam who worked inside Texas Best Smokehouse in Italy is said to have been lively and friendly.
"The Sam I know, that was around here, he helped anybody who needed help," said friend Tabitha Rogers. "If you needed a vehicle, he'd give you a ride when he got off of work."
"Never gave us any indication that he even cared about religion or terrorists or anything," said neighbor Larry Jackson. "It's just nuts."
FBI agents swept Smadi's apartment Thursday. Most people who live there believe agents raided the wrong unit. Because, they say, the last person suspected of any crime would be Sam.
Even so, some say if the FBI is right, "let him go to prison. He was going to kill thousands of people," said Kines. "If it wouldn't have the FBI on top of it, he was going to go through with it."
"It's just something we'd rather not had happened in Italy," said Jeff Jaynes, a 70-year-old barber who was waiting downtown for the Italy High School homecoming parade to start on Friday. "This is a good place to hide -- a little, dead town."
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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