Mother of Cruise Ship 'Brat' Would Refuse To Post Bail

Los Angeles (AP) - The mother of a 20-year-old woman accused of making a terrorist threat aboard a cruise ship said she wouldn't post bail for a "brat" even if a judge had granted it.

"She is going to have to stay in jail and learn her lesson," Debra Ferguson told the Los Angeles Times. "This was a big, big problem, and if she has to sit in jail - oh well. She's going to have to deal with it."

Kelley Marie Ferguson, 20, remained jailed without bail Saturday at a federal detention center in Honolulu, according to Officer Lewis Gardner.

The cruise ship Legend of the Seas had been en route from Ensenada, Mexico, when it was diverted April 23 to Honolulu after two threatening notes were found. The notes prompted an FBI search for biological, chemical, radiological and explosive weapons, as well as interrogations of 2,400 crew members and passengers.

Kelley Ferguson, vacationing with her family aboard the ship, was accused of planting the notes so the trip would be cut short and she could get home to her boyfriend. She was charged with two counts of threatening acts of terrorism, and could face as much as 10 years in prison on each charge.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin Chang on Thursday ordered her held without bail.

Her mother said she wouldn't post bail anyway and wasn't going to "risk the rest of my family's life because of a brat."

"She's going to run ... and we're going to be left with a $25,000 debt," Debra Ferguson said. "She promises not to do it again - but yeah, right."

The young woman's boyfriend, John Brashear, has said she's not a terrorist.

"She's not this kind of person," he said. "To think of her doing something like this is outrageous."

Prosecutors said they plan to send the charges to a grand jury next week.

Way to go, Momma!

Originally posted by jazz lady
The young woman's boyfriend, John Brashear, has said she's not a terrorist.

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Just ugly and stupid.

California Woman Pleads Guilty to High Seas Hoax

HONOLULU (Reuters) - A pregnant California woman pleaded guilty in federal court on Thursday to a high seas hoax that she had hoped would cut short a vacation cruise so she could return to her boyfriend.

Kelley Marie Ferguson, 20, of Laguna Hills, pleaded guilty to one count of conveying false information about an attempt to kill passengers aboard a cruise ship. In exchange, the government dropped a second, identical count.

The plea was the result of an agreement with the U.S. Attorney in Honolulu.

Ferguson will be allowed to return to her parents' home in Orange County, California, but U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin Chang ordered she not leave their home and that she also wear a device that tracks her by satellite.

The decision to let her return home was partly based on the fact that Ferguson is pregnant, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson.

Sentencing is set for Sept. 22. Ferguson could be sentenced to 20 years in prison and fined up to $250,000.

Sorenson said that dropping one of the charges would have "no practical influence on the sentencing."

"The defendant admitted to her conduct," he said. "I think, to her credit, she realized she had committed a serious offense and wanted to atone for it."

Ferguson had been accused of writing threatening notes April 22 and April 23 while aboard Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas during a 10-day cruise to Hawaii from Ensenada, Mexico.

The notes said "all Americanos" would die if the cruise ship and 2,400 crew and passengers docked at a U.S. port, hoping it would quickly return to its point of origin.

The ship was diverted to Oahu, Hawaii, and searched for biological, chemical, radiological and explosive materials by a 120 state, federal and military investigators.

While interviewing people on board, Ferguson, who was traveling with her parents and siblings, confessed to writing the notes, saying she hoped the letters would bring an early end to the trip.

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What an ignorant, self-centered idiot.

Poor judgement like this - and she's pregnant? I'm scared.

And they wonder why society is going down hill...

UPDATE: Woman Jailed for Two Years for Cruise Hoax

HONOLULU - A Southern California woman was sentenced in U.S. District Court on Monday to two years in federal prison for committing a high seas terror hoax that she had hoped would cut short a vacation cruise with her parents and return her to her boyfriend.

Kelley Marie Ferguson, 20, of Laguna Hills, Calif., will begin serving her sentence in six weeks, but the prison has not been determined, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson.

In handing out the sentence, U.S. District Judge Helen Gilmor was "deeply dismayed" by Ferguson's conduct, Sorenson said. Ferguson had been accused of writing threatening notes April 22 and 23 while aboard Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas, which was sailing to Hilo, Hawaii during a 10-day cruise out of Ensenada, Mexico.

The notes said "all Americanos" would die if the cruise ship and 2,400 crew and passengers docked at a U.S. port.

The notes scared the passengers and crew of the cruise ship, Sorenson said. "She wanted to really play that up because that was the only way she could get that cruise ship to turn around," he said.

The ship was diverted to Oahu and searched for biological, chemical, radiological and explosive materials by 120 state, federal and military investigators. While interviewing people on board, Ferguson, who was traveling with her parents and siblings, confessed to writing the notes, saying she hoped the letters would bring an early end to the trip.

Since pleading guilty in May, Ferguson has been in the custody of her parents at their Orange County home. The court had ordered her to remain at their home and during that time, she gave birth to a daughter.

To monitor her movements, the court ordered Ferguson to wear a special monitor that tracked her position through a global positioning satellite.

Ferguson had faced up to 20 years in prison, but Sorenson said the judge had to follow federal sentencing guidelines that took into account her crime, her previous criminal history, her behavior and other factors.

Sorenson said he was satisfied with the sentence. "I hope she is getting a message from this," Sorenson said. "It appears, from the letters she has written to the court, that she is legitimately sorry for this and is beginning to understand the breadth of the problems she caused."

And this idiot is going to raise a child? Holy sh!t!!

Originally posted by Vince
And this idiot is going to raise a child? Holy sh!t!!

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Hey Vince, didn't you mean to post that in this thread?

you're MM