Woman linked to NY shooting rampage gets hearing
Jul 24, 2013, 5:44 PM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) – A federal judge has refused to dismiss the charges against a woman accused of providing guns to the man who fatally shot two firefighters and wounded two others on Christmas Eve.
Dawn Nguyen, of the town of Greece, was in court in Rochester on Wednesday for a hearing on her lawyer’s pretrial motions, the Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester reported.
Prosecutors said Nguyen and William Spengler Jr. were neighbors in Webster when she bought a semi-automatic rifle and 12-gauge shotgun for Spengler, who was prohibited from buying or owning guns because he was a convicted felon.
Nguyen has pleaded not guilty to the charges she was a “straw buyer” who lied when she signed paperwork saying the weapons were for her.
Police said Spengler used the guns to kill firefighters Michael Chiapperini and Tomasz Kaczowka, and wound Joseph Hofstetter and Ted Scardino early on the morning of Dec. 24. Spengler killed himself during a shootout with police. Spengler lured the firefighters into an ambush by setting fire to his house, where investigators later found remains they believe are those of his sister, 67-year-old sister, Cheryl Spengler.
Scardino was in court for Wednesday’s hearing along with several other members of the West Webster Fire Department, the newspaper reported.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Marian Payson allowed the case to continue and reserved judgment on defense motions challenging a search warrant for her phone records and a charge she was an unlawful user of marijuana.
A hearing is scheduled for Sept. 4 on whether statements Nguyen made to authorities on the day of the attack will be allowed as evidence.
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Information from: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle,
http://www.democratandchronicle.com
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