Washington (dailynewyorknews) – A man accused of attempting to assassinate the President Idaho in a shootout in front of the White House made his first court appearance Monday in the capital of the nation for a brief hearing in which he was appointed federal public defenders, but he was not asked to enter a statement.
Ramiro Ortega Oscar Hernandez, 21, is accused of shooting at the White House 10 days ago, including some that hit the building near the residence where President Barack Obama and his family live, according to a document public complaints According to Ortega, as he himself that has been arrested in western Pennsylvania on Wednesday.
Even with long hair and beard, as shown in the photos released after authorities identified him as a suspect in the shooting, Ortega’s legs were chained and kept in handcuffs for 15 minutes hearing before Judge Alan Kay. The judge ordered that Ortega remains in jail pending a preliminary examination of the mental competence in the coming days – as requested by prosecutors – and the judge set a preliminary hearing for next Monday in Washington.
Ortega was assigned two federal defenders. A lawyer, David Bos, said the case should be dismissed because the criminal complaint released last week contains no probable cause. Bos said that none of the witnesses mentioned in the document had identified his client.
Kay denied the request for Bos’ saying there was insufficient evidence for the case to move forward.
Bos also opposed the qualifying examination, which was ordered by the judge at the request of the prosecution.
Bos told CNN that he was opposed because it just was not the case and ready to take any decision on these issues. Bos said that “any test is invasive, to some extent” for the defendant. Bos declined to comment further on the case.
Assistant United States Attorney argued that George Varghese Ortega must be held for several reasons, including the nature of the charge – attempting to assassinate the president – and the fact that he drove over 2,000 miles his home in Idaho for the scene of the shooting near the White House. Vargas Ortega said authorities arrested in Pennsylvania after a chase through several jurisdictions.
Kay, who agreed with prosecutors that Ortega should remain in prison, the defendant asked a few questions and Ortega responded to each question in a calm voice, even if you have money to hire a lawyer. ”No” he replied.
In a criminal complaint issued last week, an unidentified witness who had known Ortega for over six years, said Ortega believes that President Obama is “the devil”. Another unidentified witness told law, Ortega said Obama was the testimony of “the antichrist” and said he “had to kill him.”
On the night of the shooting, officials said the attacker fled in his car and nearly destroyed a bridge to Virginia. The criminal complaint said Ortega appears as one of two people who own the vehicle, a 1998 black Honda.
According to the document, a Romanian Cugir SA assault rifle semi-automatic was found in the car with nine sockets past three magazines of ammunition. Also found in the Honda was a black jacket with hood and the letters “LA” on it.
Earlier in the day of the shooting, the Arlington County, Virginia, police arrested Ortega after receiving a report from a resident who has a suspicious behavior. He was not arrested, but police photographed him wearing a black jacket with hooded “LA” stamped on it. The criminal complaint said that it seems that the same researchers in the abandoned car jacket.
The president was in California on the day of the shooting, traveling with first lady Michelle Obama later that night in Hawaii.
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/21/justice/dc-white-house-suspect-hearing/index.html?hpt=us_c2
