Loughner pleads not guilty

PHOENIX, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- The court entered a "not guilty" plea for Jarad Loughner, charged in the Tuscon shooting spree Jan. 8 in which six people died and 13 people were injured.

When asked to enter a plea, Loughner's attorney, Judy Clarke, asked that the court enter the plea for her client, which it did, CNN reported.

Loughner is charged with three federal counts, including one count of attempted assassination of congressional member -- Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., was critically injured. The arraignment was conducted in Phoenix. He is expected to be indicted later on two federal murder counts for the death of U.S. District Judge John Roll and a Giffords employee. State prosecutors said Loughner likely will face state charges as well.

A status meeting was scheduled for March.

A smiling Loughner wore wire-rimmed glasses and his hair is growing back, media outlets reported.

When asked whether questions about Loughner's mental state would be an issue, attorneys for both sides said said not now, CNN said.

Prosecutors said they turned over to the defense information they pulled from Loughner's computer and 250 interviews, the Post said.

The prosecutors said they will try to have more charges filed within 45 days.

In Houston, doctors said Giffords' condition is improving, but they offered no updates on the fluid buildup in her brain.

Dr. John Holcomb, a trauma surgeon at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, told the Houston Chronicle doctors will have to decide whether a catheter draining the fluid can be removed so Giffords can be transferred to The Institute of Rehabilitation and Research, or if a permanent shunt needs to be inserted.

"No one expects her to go rapidly to TIRR," he said.

Loughner's appearance in U.S. District Court in Phoenix came less than 24 hours after the U.S. attorney for Arizona asked for the case to be returned to Tucson.

The case belongs in Tucson because all the shooting victims and witnesses live there and local laws require Tucson-area crimes to be tried there, Dennis K. Burke's office said in a court filing.

"It is difficult for the victims to attend hearings, since they must factor in a 4-hour round-trip car ride to Phoenix ... on what is most likely a work day for them," the filing said.