Appeals court upholds ex-B-2 engineer's conviction

By AUDREY McAVOY

Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) - A federal appeals court is upholding the conviction of a former B-2 stealth bomber engineer for selling military secrets to China and disclosing classified information to people in other countries.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday a lower court in Honolulu was correct to admit as evidence information federal agents gathered while interviewing Noshir Gowadia before they arrested him.

Gowadia's attorneys argued the Maui resident was being detained during the interviews. But the appeals court found Gowadia was free to stop the interviews and that he willingly and enthusiastically shared information.

The appeals court also found jurors were correctly given instructions about the government's burden to prove allegedly classified information was technical data and not information in the public domain.

Gowadia is serving a 32-year prison sentence.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.