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.
Rumors prompt Red Lake school district to restrict movements:
Unspecified rumors at Red Lake High School District prompted school officials to restrict student movements throughout the district today.
Students were restricted to their classrooms and were not allowed to use the restrooms without an escort. School administrators were tight-lipped as to what exactly the rumors were.
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.
Survivor of Red Lake shootings looking forward to school:
Read about what’s happened to one of the Red Lake survivors…
Steven Cobenais, 15, lost an eye and suffered a severe brain injury but didn’t lose his sense of humor. Doctors predicted he’d face a life of paralysis and severe mental incapacity, but he has beaten the odds. He’s walking and hopes to learn to drive, though doctors aren’t sure how far he’ll progress and his parents say he has changed.
Cobenais told the station he remembered gunman Jeff Weise as a “goth” and “weird,” but didn’t know the 16-year-old well and had no idea why Weise targeted him.
“He asked me if I believe in God, and I said ‘Yeah,’ and he shot me,” he recalled.
Cobenais’ parents never left his bedside at MeritCare Hospital in Fargo, N.D. When they made it back home to the Red Lake Indian Reservation, they found their home had been vandalized and many of his most treasured possessions had been stolen.
“All my games, and clothes,” he said.
His father lost his summer job after Cobenais had a seizure in June. Because of the vandalism and expenses the family gave up their home and moved in with Steven’s grandmother.
Cobenais still faces two more major reconstructive operations: one to put a metal plate in his head and one to put in a prosthetic eye.
And some people have the nerve to say Jeff Weise is a victim.
A fund has been set up to help the Cobenais family with their expenses. Donations can be mailed to: Steven Cobenais Fund, Deerwood Bank, P.O. Box 1278, Bemidji, MN 56607
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.