Islam Said Sentenced To 10 Years For Hiding Father Yaser Said To Avoid Arrest In Daughters' Murders
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - The Irving brother of two girls murdered by their father has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for helping his father evade capture for more than a decade.
Islam Yaser-Abdel Said, the 32-year-old son of FBI "10 Most Wanted" suspect Yaser Said, pleaded guilty in January to one count of conspiracy to conceal a person from arrest, one count of concealing a person from arrest, and one count of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.
Said pleaded open to the charges against him, with no assurances from the government as to the sentence prosecutors would recommend to the judge.
He was sentenced Tuesday, April 27, by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O'Connor in Fort Worth.
"Islam Said prioritized the whims of his father, an alleged killer, over justice for his own sisters. Thanks to the dogged work of the FBI and its law enforcement partners, however, Mr. Said's efforts were ultimately in vain," U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah said following Mr. Said's guilty plea. "We are grateful to the many agents and officers who worked to apprehend Mr. Said, along with his father and uncle. Sarah and Amina deserve justice."
"Islam Said made it possible for his father, Yaser Said, to evade justice for the brutal murder of his daughters for more than a decade," said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno. "Along with our partners, the FBI is thankful for the dedication and relentless pursuit that led to the capture of Amina and Sarah's killer and those that provided him harbor."
In plea papers, Islam Said admitted to sheltering his father from arrest in an attempt to subvert the administration of justice.
The elder Said had been a fugitive from justice since New Year's Day 2008, when he allegedly murdered his teenage daughters, Amina and Sarah.
According to law enforcement, he shot the girls to death inside his taxicab and abandoned their bodies. He was captured 12 years later by the FBI's Violent Crimes Task Force, and is currently in state custody.
In pleading guilty, Islam Said admitted that evidence proved he committed the crimes charged in the superseding indictment filed in November 2020.
Said harbored his father, Yaser, inside an apartment in Bedford where a maintenance worker spotted Yaser on Aug. 14, 2017. After the maintenance worker reported the sighting to the FBI, an agent was dispatched to interview Islam, but Islam refused to cooperate.
He later harbored his father inside a home in Justin that belonged to his cousin.
On Aug. 25, 2020, FBI agents observed Mr. Said and his uncle deliver grocery bags to the residence, then followed the men to a shopping center 20 miles away, were they dumped trash retrieved from the home.
Yassein's sentencing is set for June 4 at 9 a.m. in Fort Worth.
