Lang
5/9/23
An attempted murder suspect who absconded from house custody has fled the country.
That’s according to the Johnson County Attorney’s Office, University Of Iowa Police and federal authorities. The groups issued a joint statement Tuesday indicating 19-year-old Ali Younes cut off his ankle monitor and fled to Jordan on Saturday. Younes is accused of attacking a woman and strangling her into unconsciousness on the Iowa Memorial Union footbridge in April of last year. While the woman was unconscious, Younes allegedly stole her earrings, which were valued at $20,000.
Younes, a UI student at the time, was arrested less than 24 hours after the incident and banned from campus. He was charged with Attempted Murder, 1st Degree Robbery and 1st Degree Theft. However, after a contested bond hearing, the court released him on several conditions, including a GPS monitor, and requirements that he surrender his passport and stay with his family on house arrest in O’Brien County, pending trial. Younes used Jordanian travel documents to board a Royal Jordanian Airlines flight, departing from Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
Younes’ parents were arrested and charged with aiding and abetting his escape while they were also attempting to flee the country.