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 This was the second court appearance for Paul Anthony Ciancia, 23,
in connection with the Nov. 1 shooting spree that left him
critically wounded after a gunfight with police.
Ciancia, who had a bandage on his neck, spoke softly in a hoarse
voice during the arraignment and pleaded not guilty to all charges
in an 11-count federal indictment against him. His family was not
present at the hearing which was held in a detention facility.
Ciancia is accused of walking into Terminal 3 at the airport,
removing a semi-automatic rifle from a bag and opening fire on an
unarmed Transportation Security Administration officer standing at
the entrance to a security checkpoint.
The TSA agent, Gerardo Hernandez, 39, was the first agent slain in
the line of duty since the agency was created in the aftermath of
the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Authorities say Ciancia then stalked past metal detectors through
the checkpoint and into the airplane-boarding area, shooting and
wounding two other TSA employees and a traveler before he was
critically wounded in a gunfight with police at one of the world's
busiest airports.
In addition to a single count of murder and two counts of attempted
murder of federal officers, Ciancia was indicted on four counts of
committing an act of violence at an international airport and four
counts of firearms offenses.
The 5-foot-3, 110-pound Ciancia was somber and frequently touched
the bandage as he sat before U.S. Magistrate Judge David Bristow. He
wore a green jail jumpsuit and a gray hooded sweatshirt and was
handcuffed and appeared to be shackled at the ankles for hearing.
Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney for the central
district of California, declined to discuss Ciancia's wounds, citing
a federal patient privacy law.
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On Dec. 4, Bristow ordered Ciancia held without bond after
finding he posed a danger to the community and represented a
potential flight risk.
Three charges in the indictment against Ciancia carry a maximum
sentence of life in prison or the death penalty; federal prosecutors
have not decided yet whether to seek capital punishment if Ciancia
is convicted.
Ciancia's hearing was held at the West Valley Detention Center in
Rancho Cucamonga, located east of Los Angeles in San Bernardino
County, because that is where Ciancia is being treated for his
injuries.
The detention center has facilities equipped to handle Ciancia's
medical needs, said San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department
spokeswoman Jodi Miller, whose agency keeps federal inmates under a
contract with the U.S. government.
Ciancia is scheduled to appear in federal court in Los Angeles on
Jan. 27 for a pre-trial hearing.
(Reporting by Dana Feldman; writing by Alex Dobuzinskis;
editing by
Leslie Adler and Leslie Gevirtz)
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