During Monday’s hearing, Martinez spoke from a courtroom where a video feed of Dear was streamed in. He gave short responses to the judge’s questions.
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Dear could face the death penalty if convicted of killing the three people, including one police officer, NBC News reported.
Speaking in a raspy voice, Robert Dear made his first court appearance via a video link from the jail where he has been held since surrendering after Friday’s five-hour siege.
UCCS/Splash News/UCCS/Splash News Officer Garrett Swasey, a 44-year-old husband and father-of-two who was killed during the Colorado Springs shooting at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado on Nov 27.
Stewart “was the kind of guy who always had your back”, said Anthony Fisher, 32, an Army veteran who deployed to Iraq in 2004 with Stewart. In a society that overwhelmingly supports legal abortion but is still debating when and if some abortions should be restricted, protest and dissent is important and should be protected.
Dear had spent the last few months living in a trailer off a desolate stretch of highway in Hartsel, about 65 miles west of Colorado Springs.
“It was a multiple murder of what appears to be a deranged individual”, he said.
“The case may fit the criteria for a federal domestic terrorism case, but based on my experience, I would be very surprised if this is not simply a local prosecution”, said Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers, a former USA attorney and state attorney general.
Officials still are investigating whether the vandalism is linked to the word “murderer” spray-painted on the same building October 6.
They’re also reviewing evidence found in and around the facility, the official said, including handguns and rifles Dear allegedly brought to the scene in a duffel bag and propane tanks investigators believe he planned to use as part of his attack. The same official told the Post that the shooting was “definitely politically motivated”. Anti-abortion groups have condemned the shooting, denied any knowledge of Dear and stressed that he is not affiliated with their efforts.
According to the police report, the victim claimed Dear was waiting outside of her apartment, and put a knife to her throat, forced her inside and sexually assaulted her. A judge already granted prosecutors’ request to seal Dear’s arrest affidavit and a search warrant.
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Little information about Dear’s beliefs or his background has been released, and documents in the case have been sealed.
