THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 4, 1995 TAG: 9501040399
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 137 lines
John C. Salvi III, accused of killing two Massachusetts abortion clinic workers and strafing a Norfolk clinic with gunfire, asked Tuesday for more time to decide whether he will voluntarily return to face murder charges.
Salvi's court-appointed attorney, Tazewell T. Hubard III, said Salvi declined to waive extradition proceedings, but said that did not mean the 22-year-old suspect was trying to block his return to Massachusetts.
``He wanted to know more about the legal procedure and his options,'' Hubard said outside General District Court, where Salvi was arraigned.
``He doesn't want to waive extradition, but that doesn't mean he will fight it,'' Hubard said. ``We want to get the evidence and review it, and then I will give my advice and he will make the final decision.''
That evidence includes what police here and in Brookline, Mass., collected from the shooting scenes and from Salvi's pickup truck.
Hubard met with Salvi in a private room for an hour after being assigned to defend the New Hampshire resident. Salvi was arrested near the Hillcrest Clinic on New Year's Eve.
Salvi is the only prisoner in his cell, Hubard said. Salvi is being closely supervised, but he isn't under a suicide watch, officials said.
He has asked to join the jail's general population, Hubard said, but he and jail officials advised against that for Salvi's safety.
At the arraignment, Salvi appeared in shackles before Judge Reid M. Spencer. His voice was soft but clear when he asked for a court-appointed attorney. He said that he understood the local charges and that he knew he was being held as an interstate fugitive.
Spencer ordered him held without bond on a felony charge of shooting into an occupied building.
In Massachusetts, Salvi is accused of gunning down two receptionists at separate abortion clinics in the Boston suburb of Brookline. The Dec. 30 rampage left five others wounded.
Killed were Shannon Elizabeth Lowney, 25, and Leanne Nichols, 38.
No one was injured in the shooting at Hillcrest, where Salvi is accused of firing more than 20 rounds from a semiautomatic .22-caliber rifle. Two security guards and dozens of people were inside when bullets shattered the front glass doors.
Salvi was arrested nearby.
Salvi, a hairstyling student described by acquaintances as a loner and vehement opponent of abortion, is next scheduled to appear in court Jan. 24 for a preliminary hearing and extradition proceedings, unless he decides earlier to voluntarily return to Massachusetts.
If Salvi returns there without a legal fight, Norfolk prosecutors would have to waive jurisdiction or agree not to pursue local charges against him.
But even if Salvi fights extradition, federal authorities could take him to Massachusetts on a warrant for fleeing to avoid prosecution. Hubard said that isn't likely, however, and that local and federal prosecutors indicated they would most likely seek extradition through the normal process.
Jack Corrigan, an assistant district attorney for Norfolk County, Mass., said in an interview Tuesday that he came to Virginia to return Salvi promptly to Massachusetts.
``My goal today is to get him back to Massachusetts as soon as possible,'' he said.
Corrigan said extradition papers from Massachusetts were not ready at Salvi's arraignment because they were still being prepared.
U.S. prosecutors told The Associated Press on Tuesday that they were considering filing federal death penalty charges against Salvi in Massachusetts, a state without capital punishment. They would not say what those charges might be.
Salvi, whom his attorney described as ``a very responsive and intelligent young man,'' asked for the addresses of high-ranking Catholic church officials in Virginia, Florida and Massachusetts. He also asked for a meeting with a Catholic priest.
Salvi requested his parents' address because his papers had been taken, Hubard said.
Salvi told Hubard that he became sick from food poisoning shortly after eating two ham sandwiches during his first day in jail. Salvi, who said he hasn't eaten in three days, told the lawyer he believes he may have been intentionally poisoned.
Salvi said he is suffering from nausea, diarrhea and blurred vision.
Jail spokesman George Schaefer said no other inmate has reported being sick from the food.
Schaefer said a doctor thought Salvi was suffering from ``flu-like symptoms.'' The doctor took a blood sample; results of a toxicology test should be available today, Schaefer said.
On Tuesday, Salvi ordered 10 granola bars, five bags of barbecue potato chips, five Heath bars, 10 Reese's cups, five bags of Doritos, five Pop Tarts, 10 Twix bars and one bottle of Maalox from the jail canteen. Also on his grocery list were a marker, crossword puzzle book, playing cards, a dictionary, paper, envelopes, stamps, shampoo, Tylenol and Vaseline.
Salvi has so far declined interview requests. However, he plans to give a written statement to Hubard, who said he will read it Thursday morning. MEMO: Staff writer Laura LaFay contributed to this story.
Two pages of related coverage/A10-11
ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
CHRISTOPHER REDDICK
Staff
In court on Tuesday, John C. Salvi III was given an attorney and was
ordered held without bond in the shooting Saturday at Hillcrest
Clinic. At Norfolk's jail, Salvi has his own cell, for safety
reasons.
THE SUSPECT
CHRISTOPHER REDDICK
Staff
John C. Salvi III sits in a holding room Tuesday outside a courtroom
in Norfolk. He is being held in a cell by himself in Norfolk City
Jail.
BILL TIERNAN
Staff
Two prosecutors - Jack Corrigan, an assistant district attorney for
Norfolk County, Mass., left, and Chuck Griffith, commonwealth's
attorney in Norfolk - enter court Tuesday.
STEPS BING TAKEN TO BEEF UP CLINICS' SECURITY:
Norfolk: Police on bikes patrol the parking lot of the Hillcrest
Clinic in the wake of Saturday's shooting there.
Brookline, Mass.: A metal detector is installed at one of the two
clinics attacked Friday and employees at the other hold a security
meeting.
Concord, N.H.: Police kept watch outside Concord Feminist Health
Center. A receptionist checked bags of those who enter.
Toledo, Ohio: The owner of Center for Choice II plans to meet
with U.S. marshals about more protection.
Montgomery, Ala.: The owner of Beacon Women's Center installs a
metal detector, prices a closed-circuit TV system and is carrying a
gun.
Phoenix, Ariz.: A doctor who performs abortions, already wears a
bullet-proof vest and carries a gun to work, asks police for daily
patrols.
KEYWORDS: CLINIC SHOOTINGS AFTERMATH ANTI-ABORTION ARRAIGNMENT by CNB