Court papers: Friend of accused Charleston church shooter to plead guilty
COLUMBIA, S.C.-- A friend of the white man accused of shooting nine black parishioners to death in Charleston, South Carolina, last year is set to plead guilty.
A plea agreement signed by federal prosecutors today shows that 21-year-old Joey Meek has agreed to plead guilty to lying to authorities and failure to report a crime.
Authorities have said Meek failed to tell investigators all he knew about Dylann Roof's plans to shoot nine black parishioners at Emanuel AME Church last June.
Six women and three men were killed in the shooting the night of June 17, 2015, at historic Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Meek previously said Roof stayed with him before the shootings.
He also previously told CBS News that Roof had complained that "black people was taking over the country."
Meek said that Roof told him he wanted to "start a civil war."
"It was a plan," Meek told CBS News in 2015 about the attack. "He said that he was planning it for six months."
Meek, of Lexington, S.C., also said Roof told him that he used birthday money from his parents to buy a .45-caliber Glock semi-automatic handgun.
Meek said he took the gun away from Roof the night of his drunken rant but gave it back when he had sobered up.
Roof is charged with nine counts of murder in state court and with hate crimes and other charges in federal court.