Fbi Sharpshooter At Ruby Ridge Called To Court In Boundary County

FBI sharpshooter Lon Horiuchi has been formally summoned on involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with the deadly 1992 siege on Ruby Ridge in North Idaho.

Boundary County Prosecutor Denise Woodbury, who lodged the charge in late August, said on Tuesday that Horiuchi’s attorney has acknowledged receipt and the initial court appearance will be scheduled by next week.

Horiuchi is accused of criminal negligence for shooting Vicki Weaver on the evening of the second day of the 11-day siege of white separatist Randy Weaver’s remote cabin that also left his 14-year-old son and a deputy U.S. marshal dead.

Federal authorities had refused to prosecute Horiuchi, but a Senate committee investigating the siege determined that the shot he fired to kill Weaver’s wife was illegal. Federal prosecution has also been ruled out for any of the higher echelon FBI officials who might have been responsible for issuing the questionable policy that any armed person on Ruby Ridge “could and should” be shot. That was a departure from the normal FBI policy.

Horiuchi, a 13-year FBI veteran, told investigators that Vicki Weaver’s death was accidental. He said he was aiming at Kevin Harris, a friend of the Weaver family, who was running into the cabin at the time.

Woodbury alleges Horiuchi is criminally liable for shooting through the front door of the cabin “without first determining whether any person other than his intended target was behind the door.”

Last Thursday, a magistrate dismissed charges of first-degree murder charges that Woodbury filed against Harris, 29, on grounds that it subjected him to double jeopardy. Both Weaver and Harris were acquitted four years ago of murder and all other criminal charges in connection of the siege.

Woodbury has said she expects Horiuchi to petition for the case against him to be moved to federal court under a constitutional provision covering federal agents accused of state criminal acts in the line of duty.

If granted, Idaho Attorney General Alan Lance would be responsible for prosecuting the case, although Horiuchi’s attorney would likely try to head off any trial by urging the judge to dismiss the charges on grounds that Horiuchi was just doing his duty.