North Carolina teen's lawyer says prosecutors lack details on her alleged mosque-attack role
The defense attorney for 17-year-old Sarah Santiago argues that prosecutors have not supplied enough specifics about her purported connections to the San Diego mosque shooters.
A 17-year-old from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, faces adult charges of three counts of murder by aiding and abetting and one count of conspiracy for her alleged role in the May 18 shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego. Prosecutors allege she agreed to livestream the attack, distribute extremist writings, and provide a white-supremacist patch to one of the shooters, Cain Clark and Caleb Vazquez, who later killed three victims and themselves.
Defense lawyer Alan Doorasamy says the state has not provided any information about when or how Santiago communicated with the shooters or the specifics of the livestream agreement, prompting a request for a bill of particulars. A judge scheduled a hearing on the motion, while the Forsyth County District Attorney's Office has not responded. Santiago remains detained without bail, and the case highlights the severe penalties attached to aiding-and-abetting charges in North Carolina.
Why it matters
The case raises questions about due-process rights when prosecutors withhold key details in a high-profile terrorism-related trial.
In this story
