Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz is sworn in before pleading guilty, Friday, Oct. 15, 2021, at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool)
The self-confessed Parkland high school shooter, Nikolas Cruz, pleaded guilty to jail battery charges separate from his expected guilty pleas for murder.
The former student pleaded guilty to four felony charges of assault and battery on a law enforcement officer on Friday after he allegedly attacked a deputy in 2018. According to video and eyewitness accounts, the suspect rushed, tackled and punched an officer in a jail common area before being restrained.
#BREAKING: Nikolas Cruz has officially pleaded guilty to assaulting a jail guard nine months after the 2018 Parkland shooting. pic.twitter.com/O6SP1NAtTr
— WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) October 15, 2021
Cruz is also expected to plead guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the 2018 school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Sources say punishment for the charges against him would give Cruz 17 consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
However, prosecutors have been persistent in their pursuit of the death penalty.
Source: One America News Network
