An Armstrong County man Wednesday pleaded not guilty and demanded a jury trial on charges that he bit two FBI agents and carried a firearm while committing a violent crime.
Emerson Begolly, 21, of Redbank appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ervin Swearingen to be arraigned on charges stemming from a Jan. 4 struggle in a New Bethlehem parking lot. Two FBI agents sought to detain him while search warrants were executed on his father's house in Redbank and his mother's house in Natrona Heights.
Other than one-word responses to the judge's questions, Begolly remained silent during the hearing.
In a related matter, federal prosecutors want to keep the property seized in the search of Begolly's father's house but are returning one laptop.
Shawn Begolly, the defendant's father, filed a motion Jan. 28 asking for the return of computer equipment and guns taken from his house. He said he needs the computer for his consulting business and that the government has no reason to keep his property, because it's not connected to charges against his son.
In its response, the government said the FBI needs to keep the computer equipment while the agency examines it for evidence that Emerson Begolly used it to provide material support to terrorists, Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Hull stated in a court document filed yesterday. Federal agents have testified that Begolly posted advice on pro-jihad websites that describes how to turn a car into a bomb, how to buy firearms in the United States, how to rig a firearm from a flare gun and how to sabotage railroad tracks.
As for the guns, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is running traces to determine whether any were used in a crime. Any that are cleared will be returned, Hull said.
