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UNC attacker appears in court; says 'Allah is my lawyer'
Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, the 22-year-old former UNC student charged with trying to run down other students at the University of North Carolina on Friday, thanked the judge Monday during his first appearance for the opportunity tell people about Allah."I'm thankful you're here to give me this trial to learn more about the will of Allah, the creator and the merciful," Taheri-azar said to the judge during the short hearing in Orange County District Criminal Court. Taheri-Azar, wearing the typical orange jumpsuit of jail inmates, was escorted into the crowded courtroom under tight security by the Orange County Sheriff's Office and was immediately seated in the defendant's chair. Orange-Chatham District Attorney Jim Woodall told Judge Pat DeVine that Taheri-Azar had been charged with nine counts of attempted murder and nine counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury. He then read through each of the 18 warrants, naming each of the nine victims. Taheri-Azar sat quietly, only glancing once to his right at the phalanx of deputies who stood nearby. He answered each of DeVine's questions politely as she explained his rights and the procedures. Susan Seahorn, an assistant public defender, stood behind his chair. When DeVine asked Taheri-Azar if he wanted to hire his own attorney or have one appointed for him, he answered, "I am representing myself." Taheri-Azar spoke softly and it was difficult to hear exactly what he said. Woodall, who was standing near him during the first appearance, later said Seahorn spoke to Taheri-azar as he was sitting in the defendant's chair. "She whispered in his ear to stop talking, and he said he would decide when to stop talking," Woodall said. Although Taheri-Azar said he would represent himself, DeVine still appointed the Public Defender's office to represent him "out of an abundance of caution," she said. DeVine told Taheri-Azar that his bond would remain at $5.5 million and that he would remain in custody under a safekeeping order at Central Prison in Raleigh. After speaking briefly in a backroom with two representatives of the Public Defender's office, deputies escorted Taheri-Azar to a sheriff's car that was waiting to transport him back to the prison. As news reporters shouted questions at him about representing himself, Taheri-Azar replied, "Allah is my lawyer." Posted by: ed 2006-03-07 |
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