FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla._Accused Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz was back in court Friday afternoon, this time to answer 17 charges of attempted murder from last month's mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Cruz, 19, did not speak during his brief appearance before Broward County Judge Kim Theresa Mollica. The hearing was mostly a formality _ Cruz is already being held without bond on 17 murder charges and defense lawyers aren't seeking his release.
Mollica ordered Cruz held without bond on the attempted murder charges as well, finding that evidence of guilt is overwhelming, beyond the standard required for conviction.
Defense lawyers Diane Cuddihy and Gordon Weekes made no argument to contest that finding _ the Public Defender's Office has taken the position that Cruz committed the Feb. 14 mass shooting and that he would plead guilty if prosecutors would agree to drop the death penalty as a possible punishment.
Prosecutors have until April 28 to announce whether they will seek capital punishment.
Cruz is "standing mute" to all charges, a move that allows him to maintain the presumption of innocence for legal purposes without his lawyers having to assert he's not guilty.
Cruz was captured by Coconut Creek Police at 3:41 p.m. on Feb. 14, more than an hour after the shooting had stopped. According to a police report, Cruz admitted he was the gunman, saying he used an AR-15 rifle that he discarded, along with a vest and ammunition, so that he could blend in with the crowd and escape from the school.
The rifle was recovered at the school, and records showed it had been purchased by Cruz a year earlier, according to the report.
Search warrants in the case show that investigators recovered DNA, fingerprints, live and spent ammunition and a digital camera from the home of James and Kimberly Snead, who allowed Cruz to move in with their family after his mother died last November. Another warrant shows that DNA was recovered from the rear door handle of the Uber that Cruz used to travel to the school the day of the shooting.
Arraignment is scheduled for March 14.
