South Jersey Native Paul Ciancia Pleads Not Guilty to LAX Shooting Charges

The southern New Jersey native indicted on 11 counts, including first degree murder, in connection with the fatal shooting of a TSA officer at Los Angeles International Airport in November, plead not guilty to the crime on Thursday, KTLA Channel 5 out of Los Angeles reports.

Pennsville native Paul Ciancia, 23 at the time of the shootings, appeared at a county jail facility for his arraignment on Thursday. He pleaded not guilty to multiple counts, including premeditated murder of a federal officer, two counts of attempted murder of a federal officer, four counts of violence at an international airport, one count use of a firearm to cause death, and three counts use of a firearm during a violent crime, according to the report.

The trial date has been set for Feb. 11, preceded by a status conference on Jan. 27, according to the report. He will be tried in a federal court in Los Angeles.

Ciancia has been accused of using a Smith & Wesson 5.56-millimeter M&P15 semiautomatic rifle in the fatal shooting of Gerardo Hernandez and the attempted murders of TSA Officers Tony Leroy Grigsby and James Maurice Speer.

He was shot during an altercation with police during the Nov. 1 incident and was placed in critical condition for 19 days.

If convicted, Ciancia faces the possibility of life in prison or the death penalty for the murder of Hernandez, a law enforcement officer.

The attempted murder charges and the each of the charges of violence against the surviving members carries sentences of up to 20 years in prison, and the charges of use of a firearm carries minimum sentences of 10 years in prison, to be served consecutive to any other sentence issued.

Ciancia is a Pennsville native who attended private school in Delaware and moved to southern California in 2012.