FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Florida school shooting defendant Nikolas Cruz was back in court Monday, this time for a hearing on charges that he attacked a corrections officer in jail.
Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer heard several motions but did not issue any rulings, instead deferring to another hearing Feb. 24.
Cruz, 21, is charged with assault and battery on a law enforcement officer in the jail attack. He is charged with 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the Feb. 14, 2018, massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Regarding the jail episode, a police report says Cruz punched the corrections officer repeatedly and then took the officer’s stun device but did not use it.
Cruz faces the death penalty if convicted in the Parkland slayings. His lawyers have said he will plead guilty in return for a life prison sentence, but prosecutors have rejected that.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.