November trial for man charged in Charleston church attack

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) – The Latest on the case against a man accused of killing nine black church members during Bible study in Charleston (all times local):

3:40 p.m.

A federal judge says jurors will be picked this fall in the trial of a white man accused of killing nine members of a historic black Charleston, South Carolina, church.

Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel on Tuesday set Nov. 7 as the day to begin selecting jurors for the federal trial of Dylann Roof. His trial could start about two weeks later.

Roof faces numerous federal counts, including hate crimes, in the June 17 shootings at Emanuel AME Church. He attended Tuesday’s hearing.

Defense attorneys and federal prosecutors said they felt they had enough time to prepare their case. The trial is estimated to last up to six weeks.

Roof’s state trial on murder charges is scheduled for January. Prosecutors in both jurisdictions are seeking the death penalty.

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4 a.m.

A federal judge in South Carolina is scheduled to hold another hearing on the status of the case against a white man charged in the shooting deaths of nine black parishioners at Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church a year ago.

U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel is holding a Tuesday hearing in the case of Dylann Roof, who faces numerous federal counts, including hate crimes.

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced last month that prosecutors will seek the death penalty against Roof. No trial date has been set.

Roof also faces nine murder counts in state court, where prosecutors are also seeking the death penalty in a trial set to begin in January.

The anniversary of the shooting at the church often called Mother Emanuel is next week.

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