Federal prosecutors said in court papers filed a day ahead of an
initial court appearance for Paul Anthony Ciancia that he should be
jailed without bond until trial because he represented a flight risk
and danger to the community.
Ciancia, 23, is charged with killing a federal officer from the
Transportation Security Administration and committing an act of
violence at an international airport, and could face the death
penalty or life in prison if convicted.
He is accused of walking into Terminal 3 of the sprawling Los
Angeles airport, one of the world's busiest, removing an
assault-style rifle from a bag and opening fire on a TSA agent
standing at the entrance to security checkpoint.
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Authorities say he then went past metal detectors through the
checkpoint and into the passenger-boarding area, shooting and
wounding two other TSA employees and a traveler before he was
critically wounded in a gunfight with airport police.
Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los
Angeles, said the high-profile defendant was not expected to enter a
plea during his initial court appearance on Wednesday at a federal
detention center in Rancho Cucamonga, California.
During the hearing, a federal magistrate judge will formally advise
Ciancia of the charges against him, set future court dates and take
up the issue of bond, Mrozek said.
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Ciancia, whose condition has improved since he was shot by police
following the November 1 attack, had been prevented by his injuries
from making an initial court appearance in the days following his
arrest.
Ciancia's lead public defense attorney, Hilary Potashner, could not
immediately be reached for comment.
The Los Angeles shooting sparked debate over the safety of unarmed
screeners at U.S. airports and the efficacy of allowing passengers
and members of the public to freely roam ticketing areas and other
parts of terminals beyond secure zones where they must be screened.
The officer killed in the attack, 39-year-old Gerardo Hernandez,
became the first TSA employee killed in the line of duty since the
agency was created in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001,
attacks. [By Dan Whitcomb]
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; editing by Cynthia Johnston and Phil Berlowitz)
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