Ethiopian's fate remains uncertain

PROVO — An Ethiopian who was convicted Friday for possessing his roommate's ATM card may spend the rest of his life in the custody of immigration officials.

As a result of the guilty verdict, Kiddus Chane Yohannes' legal permanent resident status will be reviewed and most likely revoked, said his attorney, Richard Gale.

But Yohannes is in the United States on asylum from Ethiopia and cannot be sent back to that country. Thus, he has the potential to be in the custody of immigration officials indefinitely, Gale said.

Yohannes, 20, faced one third-degree felony of unlawful possession of a financial transaction card in 4th District Court. Police said they found his roommate's debit card in the glove box of his 1992 Plymouth Laser.

After less than two hours of deliberation Friday evening, the eight-member jury returned a guilty verdict. He will be sentenced in March.

Jury foreman David Smith said there was "good, healthy discussion," surrounding the issue of intent. The card was never used but prosecutor Chad Grunander argued — and the

jury agreed — that someone wouldn't have a debit card belonging to someone else unless they intended to use it.

The trial was conducted without mention of some of Yohannes' activities that gained him police attention in the first place: watching execution-style videos and visiting Web sites showing violence against police officers. He also had been accused of obtaining guns illegally.

"The ultimate issue that we have to address here is whether he is guilty of the crime charged — unlawful possession of the transaction card," Judge Gary Stott said.

But it was concerns about Yohannes' reported viewing of violent Web sites that led Yohannes' roommate, Sam Westfahl, the one with the missing ATM card, to alert Orem police on June 8.

However, Gale pointed out that when Westfahl approached police that night, he never mentioned his card, which had been missing for several days.

Yohannes was arrested and charged with providing false information on applications to purchase several firearms, but those charges were dismissed in early January after Stott ruled that the application forms to obtain the gun were too vague.

The Utah Attorney General's Office agreed this week to hear an appeal of the case, as the Utah County Attorney's Office disagrees with Stott's decision.