His son Ali Younes is back and faces trial for attempted murder in Iowa City.

Iowa Court of Appeals upholds sentence for man accused of aiding son avoids trial for attempted murder and robbery in Iowa City while fleeing to Jordan.

The father, Alfred Ali Mohammad Younes, 49, from Sutherland, was previously conditionally released in May after serving less than a year of a five-year sentence.

He and his wife, Lima Khairi Mohammad Younes, 45, were accused of helping their son, Ali Younes, 21, escape house arrest by fleeing to Jordan. Alfred Younes pleaded to the charges last fall after a Johnson County jury found Lima Younes guilty.

Both were released in early May. Then, in September, young Younes voluntarily returned from Jordan to face the charges against him.

The father appealed his conviction, arguing that the court “erred in relying on community deterrence as the sole factor in determining his sentence,” according to the ruling.

The ruling, filed last month, says the judge explicitly cited several factors to justify Younes’ five-year sentence. But Younes argued that the other factors mentioned – including “personal characteristics” and the belief that the sentence would hold him accountable – were superficial because the judge did not explain which personal characteristics led to the sentencing decision. penalty.

The appeals court disagreed, saying that although the reference to personal characteristics was brief, it was clearly an acknowledgment of the details of a pre-sentence investigation report.

“Even though it emphasized in its reasoning the need for community deterrence, the court made clear that the prison sentence was based on consideration of several sentencing factors. Finding no abuse of discretion, we affirm,” the judgment concludes.

Ali Younes is accused of choking a woman on the University of Iowa campus until she lost consciousness, then stealing her earrings, worth $20,000 , in April 2022. He faces up to 60 years in prison. But before the trial, he he cut off his ankle monitor while under house arrest and fled to Jordan on May 6, 2023, according to court documents.

He now also faces an escape charge. A date for his trial has not been set.

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