Loughner Indicted
Politico reports:
A federal grand jury in Arizona on Wednesday indicted Jared Lee Loughner on charges of attempting to kill U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, and two of her aides, Ron Barber and Pamela Simon, during a shooting rampage Jan. 8 in Tucson.
Notably absent from the indictment were any charges relating to the two federal officials who were actually killed that day, U.S. District Judge John Roll and Giffords staffer Gabriel Zimmerman. Their deaths were charged as murders in the criminal complaint used to take Loughner into federal custody.
A statement from U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke stressed that the charges filed Wednesday were “the initial indictment” in the case and suggested that further charges would be forthcoming.
“We are in the early stages of this ongoing investigation. We have made considerable progress in a short period of time,” Burke said. “This case also involves potential death-penalty charges, and department rules require us to pursue a deliberate and thorough process. Today’s charges are just the beginning of our legal action, and we are working diligently to ensure that our investigation is thorough and that justice is done for the victims and their families.”
Handing up the indictment essentially heads off a preliminary hearing next week where defense attorneys could have called and cross-examined witnesses. Federal prosecutors are usually eager to avoid such a prospect. What could serve as a placeholder indictment is one way to do that.
