Judge makes ruling on release of Charleston shooting info
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- A judge has ordered the temporary halt of information in the case of a man charged in the shooting deaths of nine black church parishioners.
Circuit J.C. Nicholson ruled Friday that Dylann Storm Roof's right to a fair trial "could be in jeopardy" because of all the publicity of his case.
The order prevents information such as 911 calls, coroner reports, witness statements and mental health records from being released until a hearing on the matter can be held Thursday.
Roof himself is not expected in court until October. He faces nine counts of murder in the shooting deaths of nine people on June 17 at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston.
Meanwhile, both the FBI and a county sheriff's department agency promise to review a series of mistakes that allowed Roof to get a gun he never should have been allowed to buy.
Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon told The Associated Press on Monday that a clerk at his jail entered in the incorrect location for Roof's drug arrest in February. That meant an FBI examiner using records from a state database couldn't find the details about the arrest when Roof wanted to buy a gun.
The background check found nothing after three days and Roof was eventually allowed to buy the .45-caliber handgun authorities say was used in the June 17 shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.