Accused Minnesota lawmaker slayer asks for special accommodations during court appearance
Vance Luther Boelter, 57, asked to be placed in a cell where the lights are not on 24 hours a day. He also asked for a pencil so he could take notes. It's unclear if both of his requests would be granted, but the judge said it would be taken care of by the jail.
Boelter is accused of dressing as a police officer and shooting state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at about 2 a.m. on June 14 at their home in Champlin before fatally shooting former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in Brooklyn Park, at 3:30 a.m.
Boelter also allegedly drove an SUV with flashing emergency lights and a license plate that read "police."
Boelter appeared in court on Thursday wearing a yellow Sherburne County Jail top and bottom with orange jail-issued slippers and carrying a manila envelope.
His public defender said the prosecution agreed to give her some discovery, and they agreed to move forward with the planned detention hearing.
Boelter waived his right to preliminary and detention hearings, and when asked if he was aware that he was waiving the federal preliminary hearing, he said, "I'm looking forward to court and looking for the facts of what happened on the 14th to come out for you and the public…"
The next court date has not yet been determined, as the case must go to a grand jury for an indictment. The grand jury has 30 days from Boelter's arrest date of June 15 to file an indictment.
Boelter, 57, is charged with two counts of stalking, two counts of murder and two counts of firearm-related crimes in federal court. He is also facing second-degree murder charges on the state level.
U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson has said that Boelter's primary motive was "to go out and murder people" as authorities announced the suspect's capture after a two-day manhunt.
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