Texas terror suspect grew up in N.H., went to Mass. mosque

METHUEN, Mass. --A former Houston resident accused of training with al-Qaida to overthrow the government in Somalia grew up in Pelham, N.H., and attended a mosque in Methuen.

Daniel Maldonado, 28, got in trouble "a lot" as a teenager for things like traffic violations and loud parties, but did not commit any serious crimes, said Pelham police Capt. Joseph Roark.

Roark told The Eagle-Tribune of Lawrence that he and other veteran officers have been doing some soul-searching since learning that Maldonado is charged in Texas with trying to help Muslim extremists oust the Somali government.

He said Maldonado, a minority student in an "overwhelmingly" white community, may have thought police were picking on him because of his race -- but they weren't.

"We were saying we hope we didn't push him over the edge," Roark said. "We certainly never profiled him."

Maldonado grew up in Pelham and attended Pelham High School, but dropped out in 1997, his junior year. He moved to Manchester after his parents left Pelham, then lived in Methuen for several years. His parents now live in Londonderry.

He moved to Houston in August 2005, then in November moved to Egypt with his wife and three children. Last fall, he went to Somalia. Now he faces federal charges of undergoing military training with a terrorist organization and conspiring to use a destructive device.

Dorothy Mohr, principal of Pelham High, told The Boston Globe that Maldonado was opinionated, charismatic and passionate about politics.

"Danny was always an outspoken student, though I use the word student lightly," Mohr said. "He'd show up late for class, without the materials or homework, but he would know what we were talking about. Then he would go off on a tangent and get adamant about it."

About seven years ago, Maldonado went to the Selimiye Mosque in Methuen and asked for help converting to Islam, then took the name Daniel Aljughaifi, the Globe said.

Over the next few years, his increasingly purist views led him to criticize other Muslims for their lack of religious observance. The imam who helped convert him told him to refrain from judging others or leave the mosque; he chose to leave.

Soner Uguz, identified by others at the mosque Friday as Maldonado's best friend, said he met him the week he converted.

"He was cool. He dressed in T-shirts and jeans and didn't hide any of his tattoos. His hair was in dreadlocks. He was eager, and he had a lot of questions," Uguz told the Globe.

That changed, however. He began wearing traditional Arab clothing, tried to grow a beard, and blamed his Puerto Rican heritage when he couldn't. His wife wore a burkah and gloves, exposing only her eyes, and the couple's daughter wore a hijab headcovering. They renamed their son, Anthony, as Mohammed.

Maldonado used to say he wanted to live in Yemen because "they spoke the purest Arabic there," Uguz said. "We told him to cut it out. We never thought he'd do it, for the sake of the kids."

Another worshipper, Matthew Yusuf Trombly, said Maldonado fell victim to "the zeal of the convert." Most members of the congregation felt "that he was just learning Islam and maybe trying to do too much too fast, and got confused."

He and others said they feared Maldonado's actions would reflect badly on their mosque and religion.

"We saw him as a person who was into studying, rather than physical jihad," Trombly said. "But everything about him changed, so I can't say I am completely surprised."

Maldonado is scheduled to appear in federal court Tuesday. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.

The Houston Chronicle reported Friday that Maldonado's wife died of a high fever, probably from malaria contracted during their time in Africa. Their children are living with their grandparents in New England, the newspaper said.