By Harriet McLeod
CHARLESTON, S.C. A friend of the suspected gunman accused of slaying nine Joseph Meek pleaded guilty in a federal court on Friday to lying to investigators and concealing knowledge of the crime.
Joseph Meek, 21, had agreed in a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to withholding information about a crime and making false statements to authorities investigating the massacre in Charleston, according to court documents filed this week.
He entered his guilty plea during a hearing before U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel in Charleston, but was not sentenced.
Under the agreement, Meek could be called to testify against his childhood friend, Dylann Roof, 22, who has been accused of opening fire during a June 17 Bible class at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church.
Meek is the only other person to be charged in connection with the shootings, which sparked intense debate about race relations and gun control laws in the United States. Both Meek and Roof are white.
By cooperating with authorities, Meek could be spared the maximum sentence of eight years in prison, four years of supervised release and more than $500,000 in fines.
Roof faces 33 federal charges including hate crimes, obstruction of religion and firearms offenses. Authorities have accused him of holding white supremacist views, saying he targeted the victims because of their race.
Defense lawyers have said Roof would plead guilty if he did not face the possibility of execution. His federal trial has been repeatedly delayed while U.S. prosecutors decide whether to seek the death penalty.
State authorities are seeking the death penalty against Roof, who is charged with nine counts of murder as well as attempting to murder three people who survived the rampage, in a separate trial scheduled to begin in January.
(Writing by Letitia Stein; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn, James Dalgleish and Paul Simao)
Reuters
