Family: Terror Suspect Grew Up Deeply Religious
By Charles Rabin and Susannah A. Nesmith, The Miami Herald
Jun. 27–As a child, his life was orderly, some close to him say, full of music and art and religion in big-city Chicago, and on a rolling, animal-filled farm in a tiny town in Louisiana.
In his teens, Narseal Batiste wore a red beret, his father said, riding trains and buses in Chicago as a member of the Guardian Angels, the volunteer group that does public-safety patrols in several cities.
Last week, Narseal Batiste was charged in Miami with being the ringleader of a small Liberty City gang that authorities say had sworn allegiance to al Qaeda and was searching for weapons to commit horrendous crimes.
A federal indictment says that Batiste, 32, Patrick Abraham, 26, Burson Augustin, 21, Rothschild Augustine, 22, Naudimar Herrera, 22, Lyglenson Lemorin, 31, and Stanley Grant Phanor, 31, were determined to wage war against the United States.
It remains unclear what, if anything, might have stirred Batiste to such acts. But interviews with family members and others have revealed a childhood of faith in a family of ministers that began to change when his mother Audrey Batiste died in 2000.
That’s when Narseal Batiste, who had been a shy kid who usually followed, got more vocal, said an aunt.
"He depended on her. He was kind of lost after she died," Batiste’s aunt Sylvia Jones, 65, said Monday from her Marksville, La., home.
Then, a couple of years after his mother’s death, he was gone. Batiste, who had moved to the family farm in Marksville, took his wife and kids and left without notice, his father, Narcisse Batiste, said.
"I never heard from him again until I saw stuff on TV," said Narcisse Batiste, 72. The elder Batiste said he is a Baptist preacher who also pastors at his own nondenominational church.
Narseal Batiste, youngest of six children, was born on Chicago’s South Side. Growing up, he shuttled between Chicago and the family’s 19-acre farm in Marksville.
He attended Chicago’s Brother Rice High School, a Catholic school, but graduated from a public high school, his father said. He attended a nondemoninational church on his family’s Louisiana farm, and a nearby Baptist Church.
"We had cows, chickens, goats and sheep," said his father, Narcisse Batiste. "Narseal attended church every Sunday."
A Bible, a saxophone and a drawing board were always near. In elementary school in Marksville, Narseal Batiste would model clothing at a mall, his father said. In high school, he played sax and drew prints.
"We use to take him out on Lake Michigan when the sun was rising. He would draw the reflections," Narcisse Batiste said.
The Morning Star Worship Center, a little nondenominational church on the family farm, had once been the home of Narcisse Batiste’s parents. He said his mother’s deathbed wish was to resurrect it, so he did. Today, Narcisse Batiste has seven parishioners. Like their father, three of Narcisse Batiste’s children are ministers. So was Narseal’s mother.
Narseal Batiste always carried a Bible, his dad said.
After his high school graduation in Chicago, Narseal married Minerva Vasquez. They had four children. He joined the Guardian Angels, spent time driving a truck for Federal Express and met a man who his parents thought dressed strangely.
Narseal Batiste invited his parents and the man to eat at a Chicago restaurant.
‘I don’t know how he came across this guy. The man wore a black robe with a black staff and said, ‘I belong to the Muslims.’ We took him [Narseal] aside, and asked why he hung around with this guy. He said he was going to teach him the Holy Koran," said Narcisse Batiste.
In 2001, Narseal Batiste declared bankruptcy in Chicago, listing his occupation as a Federal Express driver who earned about $40,000 a year. He had two sons at the time and told the court he owed more than $11,000.
He picked up his family and moved back to the Marksville farm. His father said Narseal Batiste wanted to join the family business.
"He told me he wanted to work with me. I’m a bricklayer," said Narcisse Batiste.
But that didn’t last long. Early in 2002, Narseal moved his family to Miami.
Not much is known about how Narseal Batiste spent his time between his move to Miami and 2004, when he formed Azteca/ACME Organizations Inc., a stucco and drywall firm he used to hire the workers who would later become his co-defendants.
State records show that Narseal Batiste obtained a license in June 2002 with special certifications that allow him to drive long tractor and hazardous material trucks.
His wife, Minerva Batiste, wouldn’t comment Monday. His attorney, assistant federal public defender John Wylie, couldn’t be reached.
South Florida, the family moved into a small, ground- floor apartment in Northwest-Miami-Dade, near what is now Dolphin Stadium.
Sylvain Plantin, a good friend and distant relative of Phanor, says Narseal Batiste began roaming the neighborhood just south of Liberty City in late 2004.
Plantin said Batiste would wander the streets wearing his trademark dark cape and carrying a cane. Plantin said he claimed to follow the religious teachings of the Prophet Noble Drew Ali, who founded the Moorish Science Temple of America, an early 20th century religion that blends Christianity, Judaism and Islam and stresses discipline through martial arts.
Plantin recalled that Batiste told stories of how he tried to become a pastor at a local church, but was denied.
"The pastor wouldn’t allow him on the pulpit," said Plantin. "So he took it as a rejection."
Miami Herald staff writers Amy Driscoll and Larry Lebowitz contributed to this report.
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Copyright (c) 2006, The Miami Herald
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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