Planned Parenthood Attack Suspect Makes 1st Court Appearance
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4)- The man accused in the shooting rampage at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs made his first court appearance on Monday while victims family members watched from court.
Investigators continued to search the Planned Parenthood building where the suspected gunman, Robert Lewis Dear, started shooting the day after Thanksgiving.
"I can still hear gunshots," said Alexis Llaca.
She and her mother, Angelica, were both inside the clinic but had separated just before the shooting started.
Dear, 57, is accused of fatally shooting a university police officer who responded to the attack, as well as an Iraq war veteran and a mother of two inside the clinic. Nine other people were wounded.
He learned on Monday that he will face first-degree murder charges in the deaths of those three people.
Speaking in a raspy voice, Dear appeared via a video hookup Monday from the El Paso County Jail, where he has been held since surrendering after Friday's five-hour siege.
The white-bearded suspect wore a padded vest with black straps that authorities described as a standard-issue "safety smock." He gazed downward during most of the hearing. Victims' relatives watched from a courtroom.
When asked by Chief District Judge Gilbert Martinez if he understood his rights, Dear replied, "no questions."
"I heard someone say, 'Everybody get down, get down,' so we just ran and the closest place I could find was the restroom," said Angelica Llaca.
She waited there with two others for hours, the whole time her mind was wondering.
"All I wanted was my daughter, I just wanted to see her," said Angelica.
Her daughter was at the back of the building where she could hear the muffled sounds of gunfire.
"Mostly I was thinking, 'How is my mom? Where is my mom? I want my mom' and 'What's going to happen next, is he going to burst through the door?" said Alexis.
After nearly six hours, SWAT officers made their way into the building, working their way from room to room and eventually taking Dear into custody. They also rescued those caught in the middle.
"We just saw each other and gave each other a big hug and we cried," said Angelica.
Police have declined to speculate on a motive for the attack. A law enforcement official said Dear told authorities "no more baby parts" during a rambling statement after being arrested. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not allowed to publicly discuss the ongoing investigation.
Little information about Dear's beliefs or his background has been released, and documents in the case have been sealed.
Dear was arrested in 1992 in North Charleston, South Carolina, on a charge of criminal sexual conduct after a woman said he put a knife to her neck, forced her into her apartment and sexually assaulted her after hitting her in the mouth. No records show how the case was ultimately handled.
Investigators said Dear told them he knew the woman and had consensual sex with her.
