Jared Loughner Pleads Not Guilty to 49 Charges, Including Murder

March 9, 2011— -- Jared Loughner, accused of opening fire on a Tucson, Ariz., crowd in January, killing six people and wounding 13 others including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, pleaded not guilty today to 49 charges, including murder.

Wearing a tan prison jumpsuit and a large grin, Loughner, 22, only said, "Yes, it is," when a federal judge asked him if his name was correctly entered in the court record.

Wearing the same smirk he had in the mug shot taken after his arrest, Loughner still had his head shaved but had grown a wispy beard.

Thirteen people were wounded and another six people, including a 9-year-old girl, were killed Jan. 8 at an event Giffords, D-Ariz., was hosting outside a Tucson grocery store.

Inside the courtroom were several victims and family members, including a wheelchair bound Suzie Heilman. Heilman was injured at the shooting, where she brought a neighbor girl, 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green, who was fatally shot.

Loughner was arraigned on 49 new federal charges that included the murders of U.S. District Judge John Roll and Giffords aide Gabe Zimmerman.

He was charged with causing the deaths of four other people, causing injury and death to participants at a federally provided activity, and using a firearm in the commission of a violent crime.

Loughner previously pleaded not guilty to earlier charges that he tried to assassinate Giffords and kill two of her aides.

The college student also likely will face state charges in Arizona following a federal trial.

Following the shooting, investigators found documents in Loughner's home they said indicated the crime was premeditated and which they planned to introduce at trial.

Police found handwritten notes in a safe that read, "I planned ahead," "My assassination" and "Giffords." Another note read "Die, bitch," which investigators believed was a reference to Giffords.

Prosecutors want Loughner to submit a handwriting sample, but Loughner's attorneys argue that a sample would violate his right to not incriminate himself.

The alleged gunman is being held at the maximum-security U.S. penitentiary at the Federal Correctional Complex in Tucson.

After the shooting, people including ex-girlfriends and former professors said they long were concerned about Loughner's behavior.

As a teenager, he was arrested for possessing marijuana. Once enrolled at Pima Community College, Loughner was investigated five times by campus police.

In February 2010, police interviewed him after a teacher referred to him as "creepy" and as having a "dark personality." In one class, he suggested girl who had written a poem about an abortion strap a bomb to the baby.

Campus security, however, never contacted police.

A few months later, a teacher called campus police after Loughner grew "very hostile" upon learning that his grade in his pilates class was a "B." According to the report, the teacher felt "intimidated" and was concerned that Loughner might become violent.

On the morning of the shooting, Loughner posted a message on his MySpace page, writing, "Goodbye friends ... don't be mad at me."

His first attempt to buy ammunition at a Walmart was thwarted because the salesman found his behavior to be "erratic," but Loughner was successful buying the clips at a different Walmart.

At 7:30 a.m., Loughner ran a red light and was pulled over by an Arizona Game and Fish Department officer. The officer found no outstanding warrants and let Loughner go with a verbal warning to drive carefully.

Just a half hour later, Loughner's father, Randy Loughner, spotted him pulling a black bag from the trunk of their car. Loughner's father followed his son in his car, but lost him.

Less than two hours later, Loughner took a taxi to Giffords' event, and 13 minutes later, Loughner allegedly was firing.