Sentencing for Jourdain postponed, no new date set:
The headline pretty much says it all. Louis Jourdain, the alleged co-conspirator in the Red Lake shootings, had his sentencing postponed. If you remember Jourdain pleaded guilty threatening interstate communications and charges of conspiracy to commit murder, and conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States were dropped. No new date has been set. The threatening interstate communications charge carries a maximum five-year sentence.
Teen Pleads Guilty for Role in Shootings:
Louis Jourdain, the teen arrested for allegedly being a co-conspirator in the Red Lake shootings, has pleaded guilty threatening interstate communications. Conspiracy to commit murder, and conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States charges were dropped.
The docket, some of which had been blacked out, gave few details of the charge, saying only that Jourdain used a computer to conduct interstate communications that “could be taken by an objective observer as threatening” sometime between Jan. 1, 2003 and March 2005.
No sentencing date has been set yet.
But according to this article even though Jourdain may get off easy in criminal court he’s still looking at problems with possible civil trials.
“The civil part is just beginning,” Minneapolis attorney Marshall Tanick said. “The end of the criminal case is just the turning point to start the wheels moving in the civil end, of which there’s no shortage of plaintiffs and an abundance of defendants.”
Personally, I don’t see how a civil suit could be filed unless Jourdain had implicit knowledge of the exact time and place of the attack. Since according to the judgment reached it doesn’t seem to me that he had such knowledge. Then again I’m not a lawyer. I really should keep one around here. Any volunteers?
Red Lake victims’ families seek access to Louis Jourdain’s trial:
Families of Red Lake school shooting victims filed a motion in federal court Wednesday seeking access to the trial of a juvenile arrested in the case, according to sources familiar with the case.
The government has filed a similar motion seeking to allow the families into the trial, one of the sources said.
So hopefully the victims’ families will be able to attend. And the media will be shut out.
Shut out of trial, families frustrated:
I am no longer torn on the decision to keep the trial of accused Red Lake accomplice Louis Jourdain closed to the public. Yes, he is a minor. No, the media does not have the right to be in on every little thing. However, I do believe the victims’ families of the Red Lake shootings should be entitled to attend the proceedings.
A day after a federal judge ruled court proceedings for the only person charged in the case will remain closed to the public, the father of one victim said he and other families have hired an attorney to seek access. A victims’ rights group says getting answers is an important step in the healing process.
“If nobody is going to go into the courtroom, we will all have unanswered questions,” said Al Thunder, a cultural coordinator and Red Lake tribal courts judge, whose grandson Cody Thunder was one of seven people injured in the March 21 shootings. “All the ruling is going to bring is frustration.”
“We have never had access to any evidence gathered,” said Francis Brun, a retired tribal administrator and the father of Derrick Brun, a security guard slain at the high school. “I would like to know what exactly happened and whether people could have done something to prevent what happened.”
Hopefully, they will allow the victims’ families to attend while keeping the vultures of the press at bay.
Judge rules Red Lake trial will stay closed: (Log in info)
A federal judge ruled on Friday that the trial of Louis Jourdain, the teen being tried in connection with the Red Lake shootings, will remain closed. The AP and other local media had sued to open up the trial. Like I said before I’m torn on this decision because, on one hand, I think a trial of this magnitude should be opened up to the public. On the other hand, Jourdain is a minor and it galls me when the media thinks they have the God-given right to have to know everything.
Jourdain Red Lake shootings trial to be delayed:
The trial of Louis Jourdain, who was arrested in conjunction with the Red Lake shooting, has had his trial postponed…
Originally scheduled to begin Nov. 14 in federal court in Minneapolis, the trial is now targeted to start sometime in mid-December, the source said.
Jourdain is facing charges for his alleged role in the March 21 fatal shootings at Red Lake High School in which his cousin, 16-year-old Jeffrey Weise, killed nine people and then took his own life.
Prosecutors have not said what Jourdain is accused of doing. Sources with knowledge of the investigation have said he is charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
Star Tribune, AP sue to open Jourdain trial:
Both the Associated Press and the Minneapolis Star Tribune are suing to have the trial of Louis Jourdain open to the public. Jourdain was arrested in conjunction with the Red Lake shootings but the proceedings have remained close since he is being tried as a juvenile.
I’m torn on this because on the one hand, I think a trial of this magnitude should be open to the public whether the suspect in question is a juvenile or not. On the other hand, though it irks me to no end to see the arrogance of the media who think it’s their God-given right to have complete access to any and all information no matter how sensitive the information is. As much as I personally would like to see the case opened up I think the media is once again way off base. They are not entitled to know everything.
Red Lake shooting suspect’s trial will begin Nov. 14:
This is basically an article about how Louis Jourdain’s trial will start on November 14th. He was arrested in conjunction with the Red Lake High School shootings where Jeff Weise killed 7 people at the school after killing his grandfather and his grandfather’s girlfriend. As usual, not too many details are being released because Jourdain is being tried as a juvenile but popular opinion says he’s being tried for conspiracy to commit murder.
Prosecutors are alleging that Jourdain and Weise had worked on a plan for more than a year via e-mail and instant messages to kill Weise’s grandfather, steal his weapons and kill people at the school.
Since Jourdain was at the school at the time of the shooting I don’t know if this makes him an accomplice or if he had prior knowledge that the attack was coming. That’s just my opinion based on what the media is reporting. The truth may be entirely different and we may never know.
Jourdain to be tried as juvenile:
Louis Jourdain was the 16-year-old kid who was arrested in connection with the Red Lake school shooting. The charge was never announced since he is a juvenile. Now according to family members of Jourdain, he is going to be tried as a juvenile. So we may never know what Louis Jourdain is being accused of.
Feds Want To Try Jourdain As An Adult:
For those of you who may not remember Louis Jourdain was arrested in connection with the Red Lake shootings back in March. He is also the son of Red Lake Tribal Chairman Floyd Jourdain Jr. He is alleged to have been some kind of an accomplice to Jeff Weise. Not a lot of information has been released about his case because he is a juvenile. Since the federal government has jurisdiction over the Red Lake Reservation he would be tried in federal court and the feds want to try him as an adult. If he were to be convicted as a juvenile he’d be free at the age of 21. He is 17 now. If he were to be convicted as an adult he would be facing life in prison. A hearing to determine his status is scheduled to take place this week.
UPDATE: I found an interesting bit of information from this article from the Pioneer Press…
Sources with knowledge of the federal investigation have said that Weise and Jourdain wrote e-mails back and forth in which they planned the shooting spree.
Those sources have also said there were to be additional targets besides the school.