In December 2005, he was arrested for buying a computer with stolen credit card information he got while working at a Circuit City in Albany, New York.
[2] Pimentel's alleged targets included U.S. troops returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.
[5][6] After his arrest, information surfaced that the FBI had declined to get involved in the case as they thought Pimentel was incapable of successfully executing the attack and was merely mentally unstable.
[7] The Huffington Post reported that Pimentel smoked marijuana with the NYPD's cooperating informant in the case, and was likely high when making some of the incriminating statements recorded by police.
[8] Police outlets claim that he was planning to change his name to Osama Hussein to celebrate his heroes Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, though these claims have been heavily disputed by members of the Hamilton Heights community.