A Raleigh man accused of paying a hit man to behead three witnesses in a North Carolina terrorism case will make his first appearance Friday in federal court.
Shkumbin Sherifi was arrested last weekend after FBI agents tracked him to a meeting in Wilmington with a government informant posing as a hit man. Agents say the 21-year-old paid the informant $4,250 in cash toward the first killing.
Officials say the plot was masterminded by Sherifi's imprisoned older brother Hysen Sherifi, who was sentenced to 45 years earlier this month in what prosecutors described as a conspiracy to attack the Marine base at Quantico, Va., and targets abroad.
Also arrested was Nevine Aly Elshiekh, a 46-year-old school teacher from Raleigh. Her first appearance is scheduled for Feb. 3.
Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
