Judge delays sentencing in bomb plot

SEATTLE – Dozens of police secured the courthouse. An FBI agent flew in from Washington, D.C., to testify. A retired customs agent drove from North Dakota to watch.

And in the end, the judge called off the sentencing of Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian who was arrested at the border five years ago with a trunkful of explosives and a plan to blow up Los Angeles International Airport on the eve of the millennium.

After 2½ hours of arguments, U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour postponed the sentencing for three months, giving Ressam that much time to resume cooperating with investigators.

Without Ressam’s help, federal prosecutors in New York say they’ll have to drop charges against his two alleged co-conspirators, and Coughenour – more than anyone else – was determined to prevent that from happening.

“It strikes me that a lot of the details he’s not remembering now are details that one would not forget,” Coughenour said.

“We need to see something happen during the next three months.”