Judge orders Navy lieutenant and wife to remain in custody due to threat to national security

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A federal judge and prosecutors call local Navy Lt. Fang Yang a threat to national security.

Yang has top secret clearance and works at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, but Yang's attorneys argue he's lived in the United States for 11 years and has two children at home.

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Both Yang and his wife face federal charges.

Action News Jax reporter Jamarlo Phillips was in downtown Jacksonville when their family members walked out of federal court in disbelief after a judge ordered the husband and wife to stay in custody until their trial.

Prosecutors say Yang hid his wife's relationship with a Chinese national who paid them hundreds of thousands of dollars for guns and boats.

Prosecutors also believe Yang lied to the Navy telling them he was taking his family to Disney World in July but instead traveling to Nebraska to meet with that Chinese national.

Action News Jax Crime and safety expert Dale Carson is one of four attorneys representing the couple.

Carson says he was disappointed with the judge's decision.

"It was a well written complaint on behalf of the government, but their truth is not necessarily our truth, so we will look at the evidence and see where that leads us, and it's going to be an interesting case, for sure," explained Carson.

Last week, Sky Action News Jax flew over the action for hours on Salamanca Avenue as FBI agents and NCIS were seen bagging and cataloging computers, along with documents that were removed from the Yangs' home.

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Attorneys told a judge family members are now helping take care of the couple's 2-year-old and 5-year-old children.

"All of us miss the comfort of home when we are not there, so I'm sure that is true with the Yangs" Carson explained.

Action News Jax Investigates found out the smuggling operation has so far led to the arrests of four people linked to the crimes reaching far as Louisiana.

Two suspects being held in Lafayette will be brought to Jacksonville this week.

Cox Media Group