COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—A judge says safety concerns were the reason the public wasn’t allowed at a court hearing for a man accused in a double slaying in Colorado Springs that was allegedly sparked by a disagreement over rap music.
Thirty-two-year-old Hiram L. Sampson was arraigned Friday. District Judge J. Patrick Kelly says he closed the proceeding because attorneys were worried about the possibility of violence against the aspiring rapper.
Deputy District Attorney Jeff Harwood declined to discuss what had happened at the hearing or what charges Sampson was arraigned on.
Sampson previously pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and other felonies related to the shootings.
He and 35-year-old Darneau Pepper are accused in deaths of 21-year-old Samone Robinson and 20-year-old Darrell Mitchell. Investigators say the two were killed Feb. 9, 2008, at an apartment complex after a disagreement over rap music.
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Information from: The Gazette,
