Loughner to plead guilty in Giffords shooting, source says
12:14 am in AZ News, county attorney, federal case, Fox News, foxnews com, guilty plea, News Feeds, pima, Pima county, plea deal by PinkTeaPatriot
Posted: Aug. 4th, 2012
Jared Loughner, the man accused in a 2011 shooting rampage that seriously wounded then-U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, will plead guilty Tuesday to murder and attempted murder, a source familiar with the deal told Fox News.
A court-appointed psychiatrist will testify Loughner is competent to enter a plea in the Tucson massacre that killed six people and injured 13, including Giffords. A possible plea deal would send him to prison for the rest of his life, a person familiar with the case told The Associated Press.
The plea and deal are contingent upon the judge agreeing Loughner is competent and allowing him to accept the plea, which are not certain in this case, the source says.
A status conference in the federal case had already been scheduled for Tuesday in Tucson.
Bill Solomon, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office, said Saturday he could not comment on Loughner’s case and the possibility of a guilty plea.
The Pima County attorney’s office, which has said it could also pursue state prosecution of Loughner, declined to comment, said spokeswoman Isabel Burruel Smutzer.
