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Colorado Springs shooting suspect, Robert Dear, right, appeared via video on Nov. 30 before Judge Gilbert Martinez, with public defender Dan King, left, at the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center for his first court appearance, where he was told he faces first-degree murder charges in Colorado Springs, Colo. (Daniel Owen/The Gazette via AP, Pool)
COURTESY JOHN AH KING VIA HAWAII NEWS NOW Jennifer Markovsky, of Waianae, was killed during a deadly attack Nov. 27 at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood clinic.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. » The man accused of killing three people, including one Waianae woman, and wounding nine others at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado stunned a courtroom today by declaring he is a “warrior for the babies” and won’t go to trial.
Robert Lewis Dear, 57, made the outburst before he was formally charged with first-degree murder and other counts in a Colorado Springs courtroom.
Colorado Springs police have declined to discuss a potential motive in the Nov. 27 attack, but there had been mounting evidence to suggest Dear was deeply concerned about abortion.
He rambled to authorities about “no more baby parts” after his arrest. And a law enforcement official said this week that the gunman asked at least one person in a nearby shopping center for directions to the clinic before opening fire. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation and spoke this week to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Dear has lived in remote locations without electricity or water and was known to hold survivalist ideas.
One of his three ex-wives, Barbara Mescher Micheau of Moncks Corner, South Carolina, said he vandalized a South Carolina abortion clinic at least 20 years earlier, announcing to her that he had put glue in the locks of its doors, a common protest technique among activists trying to shut down abortion clinics.
A first-degree murder conviction can lead to life in prison or the death penalty.
Killed in the attack were Garrett Swasey, 44, a University of Colorado-Colorado Springs officer who rushed to the scene; Ke’Arre Stewart, 29, an Iraq war veteran who was accompanying someone at the clinic; and Jennifer Markovsky, 36, a mother of two from Waianae who also accompanied a friend at the clinic.
Five other officers were shot and wounded in the rampage.
Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers said Monday that responding officers rescued 24 people from inside the clinic building and helped remove 300 people from surrounding businesses where they had been hiding while the shooting unfolded.
Good intentions gone wrong. Citizens should allow the law enforcement to do their job, so we can stay on the sidelines, safely.
He should’ve stuck to Superglue. Now, a three-time murderer, he’ll end up in Supermax. 23 hours of isolation a day for the rest of his life should tune up his brainwaves just fine.
Don’t worry. ACLU will provide him with a new broom stick.
This guy needs a mental competency exam. He thinks his lawyers are trying to drug him. He is not in his right mind.
He could be having a mini stroke in the brain. Stat a MRI for him.
Maybe he wants to plea not guilty due to insanity.
There is a guy who has utilized his 1st amendment rights to spread similar messages in Hilo’s Lincoln Park. He was out there today again with his signs and pictures admonishing Hawaii for legalized abortions, including pics of fetuses. Mind you, right next to the playground at Lincoln Park. In some way, I am glad that the Star Advertiser or any of the news agencies have not made a news story out of him — because that is what he wants. More attention. Recently, some concerned residents in Hilo have showed up on the same days and led counter protest with other, more community/keiki friendly signs. I personally believe that the guy is constitutionally protected to say what he is saying. In the wake of Colorado Springs however, I sure hope this guy is on the watch list.
“I sure hope this guy is on the watch list.” Why, because he has an opinion that upsets you? Unless he expresses violent intent, placing him on a “watch list” would amount to intimidation, pressure to mute his protest. How about we place Planned Parenthood employees/managers on a “watch list”, given their organizations questionable activities? Sounds fair to me.
Nut Case
He should be put down like the wild animal he is. Mental state not withstanding, execute and quickly. Do not waste time and money on people like this.
Not sure what survivalist ideas have to do with the crime. Did he like chocolate ice cream? How about cherry pie? What’s his favorite color? Journalists can be idiots.
Too bad the cops didn’t waste him when they had the opportunity to do….now this low life murderer will be living off the taxpayers for years to come…..
That he’s deeply disturbed and lacks the normal inhibitions that keep most civilized people in check I have no doubt. However, an acquittal due to mental illness is never easy to obtain. If he’s truly as unhinged as he seems in his public appearances, then I think he’ll only get worse if sentenced to a high security prison setting. And should he completely lose his mind in there, is punishment at that point still being meted out? After all, if someone is seriously crazy, then how is he going to appreciate what the justice system does to him? I suppose for our sake we should just be satisfied he’ll be confined, whether he understands why or not.