These booking photos released Oct. 9, 2021, by the West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority show Jonathan Toebbe and his wife, Diana Toebbe. Federal prosecutors accused the Maryland couple in a plot to sell sensitive U.S. submarine secrets to a foreign government. A West Virginia judge granted a detention request from prosecutors Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021, meaning the couple will remain behind bars for now (West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority via AP)
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Maryland couple charged in a plot to sell sensitive U.S. submarine secrets to a foreign government will remain behind bars for now, a judge said Tuesday in granting a detention request from prosecutors.
Jonathan and Diana Toebbe each made brief appearances in federal court in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Magistrate Judge Robert Trumble ordered them to remain detained pending a detention hearing on Friday at which more extensive arguments are expected to be made.
The couple answered perfunctory questions from a judge, but no substantive information about the case was revealed.
The Toebbes were arrested in West Virginia over the weekend. Jonathan Toebbe, a Navy nuclear engineer, is accused of passing information about American submarines to someone he thought was a representative of a foreign government but who was actually an undercover FBI agent.
The authorities say Diana Toebbe sometimes accompanied her husband to pre-arranged 'œdead drop'ť locations, including serving as a lookout.
The judge said Tuesday that each could face life in prison if convicted.
FILE - In this Friday, July 30, 2004 file photo, the U.S.S. Virginia returns to the Electric Boat Shipyard in Groton Conn., after its first sea trials. A Navy nuclear engineer with access to military secrets has been charged with trying to pass information about the design of American nuclear-powered submarines to someone he thought was a representative of a foreign government but who turned out to be an undercover FBI agent, the Justice Department said Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Jack Sauer, File)
The Associated Press
The residence of Jonathan and Diana Toebbe is shown on Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021 in Annapolis, Md., a day after neighbors say the house was searched by FBI agents. Jonathan Toebbe, a Navy nuclear engineer, has been charged with trying to pass information about the design of American nuclear-powered submarines to someone he thought was a representative of a foreign government but who turned out to be an undercover FBI agent. His wife also was arrested. (AP Photo/Brian Witte)
The Associated Press
This booking photo released Oct. 9, 2021, by the West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority shows Jonathan Toebbe. Federal prosecutors accused Jonathan Toebbe and his wife Diana Toebbe in a plot to sell sensitive U.S. submarine secrets to a foreign government. A West Virginia judge granted a detention request from prosecutors Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021, meaning the couple will remain behind bars for now (West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority via AP)
The Associated Press
This booking photo released Oct. 9, 2021, by the West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority shows Diana Toebbe. Federal prosecutors accused Diana Toebbe and her husband Jonathan Toebbe in a plot to sell sensitive U.S. submarine secrets to a foreign government. A West Virginia judge granted a detention request from prosecutors Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021, meaning the couple will remain behind bars for now (West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority via AP)
The Associated Press