Judge says museum suspect can't appear in court

WASHINGTON – A white supremacist accused of fatally shooting a security guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is in no condition to appear in court, a federal judge ruled Monday. James von Brunn, 88, was shot in the face by guards who returned his fire last week and is still hospitalized. FBI officials have said he is likely to survive.

After a brief private conversation with prosecutors and the defense, U.S. Magistrate Judge John Facciola said at a hearing that he had determined that it would not be possible for von Brunn to have an initial appearance in the next week, either at the courthouse or in his hospital room.

Von Brunn has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of 39-year-old Stephen T. Johns, who was black. Authorities say von Brunn shot the guard in the chest with a vintage rifle after Johns opened the door for him.

Little was revealed about von Brunn's condition at the hearing. Prosecutor Nicole Waid said von Brunn is in critical but stable condition. She asked to approach the bench for any further discussion, and Facciola called all the attorneys up for a confidential talk.

"Obviously, he's not able to get to court," Facciola said after their discussion. He scheduled another hearing for next Monday to get an update.

Von Brunn's court-appointed attorney A.J. Kramer would not comment further about his client's condition, citing health privacy laws, but said he was able to meet with him at the hospital on Sunday.

Von Brunn's son has come out publicly against him, saying the shooting was unforgivable and he wished his father had died instead.

Erik von Brunn told ABC's "Good Morning America" that he and his father didn't like each other. The interview followed ABC's release Sunday of comments by the son that his father had long burdened their family with his white supremacist views and should have died in the attack.

"I loved my father. But what he did was unforgivable," Erik von Brunn, 32, said.

ABC played a short video of Johns' mother Jacqueline Carter reacting to Erik's statements about his father.

"I hope that in time his son will be able to forgive his dad and find some peace within his heart also," Carter said.

In response, Erik von Brunn told ABC, "Forgiveness is very difficult right now."

"You know, the only bond we had was father and son. We didn't like each other very much."

Von Brunn also had another son, James B. von Brunn, whose body was found in a Seaside, Calif., motel in January 2007, according to Cmdr. Mike Richards of the Monterey County, Calif., sheriff's office. The 55-year-old son had health issues and died from bronchial pneumonia, Richards said.

Richards told The Associated Press that when contacted about his son's death, von Brunn said "he didn't want anything to do with this," only asking officials for his son's watch. But a few months later, von Brunn approached authorities, citing several reasons why he was upset about how they handled the death.

Richards said von Brunn also was not pleased that a person, who knew the son and was quoted in a report about the investigation, told officials that his son "hated his father."

Richards said von Brunn contacted numerous county officials, as recently as last month, with complaints.

"He wasn't very happy, and it didn't seem like he would accept any explanation for things," Richards said.

___

Associated Press Writer Nafeesa Syeed contributed to this report.

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Comment by Tara on June 16, 2009 at 12:54am
Yeah, the more and more I hear about this case, the more patsy comes to mind. You couldn't dream up this kind of stuff without a little help from some inside hands turning the screw.
Comment by Maas on June 16, 2009 at 12:13am
Well he did get shot in the face, but on the other hand that makes him the perfect patsy.

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