NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - Three Somali men charged with piracy in the hijacking of a yacht that left four Americans dead are scheduled to make plea agreements.
The men will appear in federal court in Norfolk Friday. They are among 15 people from Somalia and Yemen who had previously pleaded not guilty to piracy, kidnapping and firearms charges related to the February hijacking of the yacht Quest in the Gulf of Aden. Six others will have similar hearings next week.
Prosecutors contend the men boarded the boat in an effort to hold its passengers for ransom.
The owners of the Quest, Jean and Scott Adam of Marina del Rey, Calif., along with friends Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay of Seattle, were shot to death after being taken hostage several hundred miles south of Oman.