Federal prosecutors appear to be preparing to seek the death penalty against a woman accused in the January shooting of a U.S. Border Patrol agent near the Canadian border, and her attorneys are asking a judge to slow down the process.
Attorneys for Teresa Youngblut complained in a June 30 court filing in Vermont that prosecutors are pushing an unusually aggressive timeline for bringing a death penalty case. They say the rush to judgment violates her right to investigate mitigating circumstances.
“This court should step in to ensure Miss Youngblut receives a meaningful opportunity to persuade the government not to pursue the death penalty,” her attorneys said in a court filing.
Attorney General Pam Bondi in February singled out Youngblut’s case as a prime example of how the Trump administration will aggressively seek capital punishment. Bondi said the Trump administration is committed to seeking swift justice when it comes to capital murder cases, and ordered her staff to reconsider past “no seek” decisions where federal prosecutors could have sought the death penalty but didn’t.
“Going forward, the Department of Justice will once again act as the law demands, including by seeking death sentences in appropriate cases and swiftly implementing those sentences in accordance with the law,” Bondi said.
What happened on Jan. 20?
Authorities say Youngblut and a companion pulled guns on Border Patrol agents during a Jan. 20 traffic stop in which agent David Maland was shot and killed. Youngblut has not yet been specifically charged with firing the fatal shot, nor been formally notified that she faces the death penalty.
The confrontation between Youngblut and Maland appears connected to a series of deaths nationwide related to the cultlike “Zizan” group, which is also being investigated in California, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. The internal Justice Department process to decide whether to seek the death penalty typically takes more than a year, Youngblut’s attorneys said, with even more time needed to hold the actual trial.
Youngblut’s attorneys also argue that with her life on the line, she is legally entitled to more time to investigate any mitigating circumstances. Court records note that Youngblut’s diary contains several references to taking LSD.
A German national traveling with Youngblut, Ophelia Bauckholt, was also killed in the shootout with federal agents.
The two initially attracted law enforcement attention because Youngblut and Bauckholt were reported wearing tactical-style gear and openly carrying firearms, which is legal in Vermont but unusual. The two declined to speak with officers, and agents began following them, according to an affidavit.
Investigators also wrongly thought Bauckholt’s visa to remain in the United States had expired.
According to court records and FBI affidavits, sometime in the minutes after Border Patrol agents stopped the Toyota Prius that Youngblut was driving, Youngblut opened fire with a handgun, firing at least two shots. Bauckholt, who also drew a handgun, was shot before firing. Bauckholt died at the scene, and Maland, the Border Patrol agent, died at a nearby hospital.
Investigators said they found five cellphones, a night-vision device, and laptops in the Prius.
Earlier this month, a grand jury indicted the Zizian group’s namesake, Jack “Ziz” LaSota, on weapons charges. And a man that Youngblut was planning to marry was arrested Jan. 24 in connection with the Jan. 17 slaying of a California landlord, according to court records.
A longtime Vermont defense attorney familiar with the case previously told USA TODAY he believes Youngblut opened fire on the Border Patrol agents because she thought they knew about the California murder that happened three days earlier.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Feds pursue death penalty in Vermont Border Patrol shooting: Attorneys
