Witness says Fort Dix suspect sought help

CAMDEN, N.J., Nov. 27 (UPI) -- One of the men facing charges for an alleged terror plot targeting New Jersey's Fort Dix sought out police assistance on the matter, a witness alleges.

Philadelphia Police Sgt. Sean Dandridge has testified that suspect Serdar Tatar approached him in November 2006 and informed him about some suspicious interest in the U.S. Army base in Burlington County, N.J., the Philadelphia Inquirer said Thursday.

"He told me he was approached by a gentleman he met in his mosque … and the gentleman asked him for a map of Fort Dix," Dandridge testified in a Camden, N.J., federal courtroom Wednesday.

"I just told (Tatar), of course, don't give the map to anyone," Dandridge added.

Tatar's family had maps of Fort Dix available at their pizzeria near the U.S. Army site and prosecutors have alleged the terror suspects were planning on gaining access to the base using a pizza-delivery pass, the Inquirer said.

Prosecutors countered Dandridge's testimony regarding Tatar, one of five suspects in custody for the alleged terror plot, alleging the defendant merely had been attempting to learn if authorities knew anything about the planned attack.