Two Nevada veterans released on bail in the United Arab Emirates
Two Nevada veterans have been released on bail from a prison in the United Arab Emirates where they were being held on charges related to carrying firearm accessories or ammo in their luggage, their families said Thursday.
The men, Nicholas Moody of Reno and Erik Bergman of Las Vegas, were arrested more than two months apart. They were both released Wednesday from al Wathba, Abu Dhabi's central prison, to await appearances in court. Authorities in Abu Dhabi kept the men's passports as bail.
"I can't even begin to express how much relief we feel as a family," Moody's mother, Lorina Moody, said from her home in Susanville, Calif. "We're hoping this is almost done."
Moody, 23, who recently served in Afghanistan with the 221st Cavalry Wildhorse Squadron in the Nevada National Guard, was arrested in the UAE on Sept. 29 after airport officials found firearm accessories in his luggage.
His breaking the law wasn't intentional, his mother said.
He was returning to Reno from Iraq, where he worked as an armed guard for a private security contractor. After a layover in Abu Dhabi, airport officials found a sling, a cleaning kit, a pistol grip, a buttstock, a front grip and a wrench in his bags.
The parts, which were pertinent to his job description, can accompany a gun but "cannot form anything dangerous" by themselves, his mother said.
Moody is staying with friends in Abu Dhabi and has been given a Monday court date.
He is grateful for the outpouring of support he's received from friends, families and even strangers, Lorina Moody said.
Erik Bergman, a 39-year-old U.S. Army veteran of the Gulf War, was arrested in the UAE on Nov. 13 after airport officials found a few bullets in his luggage, his family said.
Bergman, whose family says suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and Gulf War syndrome, was traveling from Las Vegas to meet his wife, who had recently moved to the UAE for a teaching job.
Bergman unknowingly was carrying some bullets in a suitcase, his stepdaughter, Rebecca Blumer, said from her home in Georgia.
"There were about 10 pockets on the front of that suitcase," Blumer said, adding that Bergman probably had placed the bullets in the bag long ago and had forgotten they were there.
Bergman also is facing drug charges related to the prescription medication he takes for his illnesses, Blumer said.
The charges were added after officials gave Bergman a blood test, Blumer said. The prescription medications were all legal in the United States, she said.
Bergman does not yet have a court date.
Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at lcurtis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0285.
