Man Said to Idolize Va. Tech Shooter Faces Trial

[RamboLiberal]

Source: Washington Post

As the second anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre approaches, federal prosecutors are preparing a criminal case against a Nevada man who police say idolized shooter Seung Hui Cho, owned the same type of guns Cho used and sent threatening e-mails to two Tech students who had run-ins with Cho before the rampage.

In the e-mails, Johnmarlo Balasta Napa, 27, included a picture of Cho holding paper dolls with photos of the faces of the two students and the people he killed, according to court records. Napa is accused of sending the e-mails from the address [e-mail] hours before the first anniversary of the April 16, 2007, shooting.

When Napa was arrested last year, police found 13 guns and three bulletproof vests in his house in Henderson, Nev., police said.

Napa, who has been held without bail since April, is charged with two counts of sending e-mail threats. His trial is scheduled for April 28 in U.S. District Court in Roanoke. He could face up to 10 years in prison.

His public defender, Fay F. Spence, said that Napa did not intend to harm anyone and that the e-mails did not contain a specific threat. "He was initiating a discussion on causes of school violence," she said, adding that Napa formerly worked in Air Force intelligence.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/29/AR2009032901992.html?hpid=moreheadlines

[napoleon_in_rags]

1. That defense strikes me as pretty weak.

It would be solid if he didn't have 13 guns in his house, but damn.

[Believing Is Art]

2. Solid is a stretch

Given the handle he used for the e-mail, the content, and his choice of recipients, it's hard to see how this doesn't come off as threatening. Don't need a gun to threaten someone.

[pinniped]

3. He was in the USAF, that proves he didn't do it.

Some of these public defenders crack me up.

"He was initiating a discussion on causes of school violence," she said, adding that Napa formerly worked in Air Force intelligence.

He was initiating all right, with the next chapter being the reenactment.

[Supersedeas]

4. USAF intelligence???