SAN DIEGO – The Latest on the suspect in a fatal shooting at a California synagogue appearing in court on federal hate crime charges (all times local):
2:15 p.m.
The 19-year-old suspect in a fatal shooting at a California synagogue has pleaded not guilty to federal hate crimes.
John T. Earnest spoke only twice during a brief hearing Tuesday in San Diego, once to acknowledge his name and once to say he agreed with his court-appointed attorney's request not to seek bond.
Prosecutor Peter Ko said the federal government has not decided whether to seek the death penalty.
He reaffirmed plans to try the case separately but simultaneously with state charges of murder and attempted murder, which could also expose Earnest to the death penalty.
Earnest is accused of bursting into the Chabad of Poway synagogue on April 27 and opening fire with an assault rifle, killing one person and injuring three.
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6:20 a.m.
The 19-year-old suspect in a fatal shooting at a Southern California synagogue is scheduled to make his first court appearance on federal hate crime charges.
John T. Earnest will be escorted a few blocks Tuesday to the federal courthouse in downtown San Diego from a county jail, where he is being held on state charges of murder and attempted murder.
Earnest is accused of bursting into the Chabad of Poway synagogue on April 27 and opening fire with an assault rifle, killing one and injuring three.
An account in a federal affidavit describes a deeply disturbed man filled with hatred toward Jews and Muslims. He claims to have been inspired by attacks on mosques in New Zealand and the shooting at the Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue last fall.
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