http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703779704576073933149112002.htmlPHOENIX, Ariz.—Federal prosecutors are assembling a case against suspected killer Jared Lee Loughner that portrays him as a man with psychological problems who was nonetheless competent enough to plot an assassination.
Associated Press
An undated photo released by the Pima County Sheriff's Office showing shooting suspect Jared Loughner.
Mr. Loughner appeared Monday in federal court—his head shaved, shackled at the waist and dressed in a beige jail jumpsuit—to hear the government's charges of murder and attempted murder against him.
Federal prosecutors will try to show that Mr. Loughner planned the Saturday attack that killed six people, gravely wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D., Ariz) and injured 13 others.
During the hearing, Magistrate Judge Lawrence O. Anderson asked Mr. Loughner whether he understood the charges, which could carry the death penalty. "Yes, I understand," he replied in a loud voice.
Mr. Loughner was assigned two federal public defenders, including Judy Clarke, who had represented Theodore Kaczynski, the so-called Unabomber, as well as Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui. She stood beside Mr. Loughner (pronounced LOFF-ner) at the hearing, frequently resting her hand on his shoulder.
Investigators are still trying to piece together the events leading to Saturday's shooting. Mr. Loughner tried that morning to buy bullets at a Wal-Mart store but was turned away, and then purchased some at another Wal-Mart, say people familiar with the matter, who relayed the preliminary findings of law-enforcement officials.
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