ROMULUS, Mich.-
A man accused of trying to bring a knife hidden inside a hollowed-out book onto a plane bound for his native Yemen has been ordered to stand trial on a felony charge.
Mohammed S. Ghanem, 21, of Hamtramck, was arrested Sept. 7 at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after federal Transportation Security Administration officers detected the knife.
Defense lawyer Nabih Ayad has said that someone else hid the knife in the address book and that Ghanem was unaware it was there.
On Wednesday, Ghanem waived a preliminary examination on a charge of possessing a weapon in the sterile area of an airport. Romulus District Judge William Szlinis ordered him tried on the charge, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Ghanem remains jailed in lieu of a $500,000 bond awaiting an Oct. 4 hearing.
He is a legal permanent U.S. resident and was returning to Yemen to get married, Ayad said earlier.
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