Lawyer: Man charged in NYC subway shooting plans guilty plea

December 21, 2022 Associated Press

This image provided by the New York City Police Department shows a Crime Stoppers bulletin displaying photos of Frank R. James. Courtesy of NYPD via AP

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A man charged with wounding 10 people when he fired a gun into a crowded Brooklyn subway car earlier this year has told his lawyers he’d like to plead guilty next month.

Frank James, 63, wants to plead guilty in the first week of January, the attorneys said in a letter Wednesday to U.S. District Judge William F. Kuntz II, who is overseeing the case, in Brooklyn.

The revelation by defense lawyers on the letterhead of the Federal Defenders of New York came just a day after the defense team had requested an adjournment of a trial set for late February. The lawyers said extra time was needed to review evidence and because prosecutors weeks ago updated the indictment with new charges.

Prosecutors opposed a delay to the trial, saying gunshot victims deserved to see justice carried out without reasonable delay.

James has been held in a federal jail in Brooklyn since his arrest after the April 12 attack on a subway car packed with morning commuters.

A spokesperson for the federal prosecutor in Brooklyn declined comment.

Authorities said James fired random scattered shots in the train. He had posted dozens of online videos ranting about race, violence and his struggles with mental illness.

The shooting occurred a month before a gunman shot and killed a passenger on a moving New York City subway train as it went over the Manhattan bridge.