TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Federal prosecutors want all future hearings for the suspect accused of shooting Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 18 others to be held in Tucson instead of Phoenix.
The U.S. attorney for Arizona filed the court request late Sunday, just hours before Jared Loughner is expected to be arraigned in the federal courthouse in Phoenix.
The filing says the case should be sent back to Tucson because all the victims and witnesses live in the area. Local rules also require that a crime that happens in the court’s Tucson region should be tried there.
Loughner is charged with attempted assassination of a member of Congress and trying to kill two federal employees. Additional federal and state charges are expected.
The case was moved to Phoenix because one of the six dead, U.S. District Judge John Roll, was based in Tucson.
