Poway killer pleads not guilty to new charge

If convicted of murder, John Earnest, 20, could face the death penalty, though prosecutors haven’t said what sentence they would seek.

By JNS

John Earnest, the now 20-year-old man charged with shooting and killing congregant Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60, and wounding three people, including senior Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, at Chabad of Poway in Southern California during Shabbat-morning services on April 27 again pleaded not guilty last week to the latest charges related to the attack and subsequent murder.

On Thursday, he responded to a new charging document from a preliminary hearing last month, though prosecutors made few changes from the initial charges.

If convicted of the murder charge, Earnest could face the death penalty, though prosecutors haven’t said what sentence they would seek.

Earnest is scheduled to be back in court on Dec. 5 for a status hearing in which a trial date will likely be set.

In May, he was charged with 113 federal hate crime-related counts. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

Earnest has also been charged for setting fire to a mosque in a nearby California town.

Chabad of PowayJohn Earnest