Ana Corea, right, looks over a makeshift memorial in front of Haven Pharmacy, where four people were killed during a shooting on Sunday, in Medford, Wednesday, June 22, 2011. A 33-year-old man was arrested Wednesday in connection with the shooting deaths of four people inside a family-run pharmacy in a robbery for painkillers gone wrong, Suffolk County officials said. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
David Laffer has been indicted in connection with the drugstore robbery that left four people dead.
An assistant Suffolk County prosecutor made the announcement during a brief court proceeding Tuesday involving 33-year-old David Laffer of Medford. Laffer is currently being held without bail on first-degree murder charges and did not appear in court.
The specific charges returned by a grand jury were expected to be announced in the coming days.
Laffer’s wife, Melinda Brady, was arrested on charges of robbery and obstruction. She is also facing a possible upgrade in charges. Her Tuesday court appearance was postponed to July 15.
David Laffer was reportedly put on suicide watch Friday morning after a Suffolk County judge ordered Laffer held without bail during his arraignment on first-degree murder charges. Laffer pleaded not guilty to the gruesome Father’s Day crime.
More Pictures of Laffer and Brady
Laffer, 33, had two black eyes and cuts on his face at the arraignment after he resisted police arrest Wednesday. He and wife Melinda Brady, 29, were arrested and charged with the Sunday robbery of Haven Drugs in Medford and the killings of two pharmacy employees and two customers.
Police say both Laffer and Brady were high at the time of their arrest. Their murderous spree was captured on surveillance video. Laffer killed the four victims, while Brady waited out front in the car.
“He did not announce a robbery,” Assistant District Attorney John Collins said at the arraignment. “He simply shot first after engaging the pharmacist in conversation.”
The pharmacist, Raymond Ferguson, 45, of Centereach, was shot once in the stomach. Prosecutors say Laffer then aimed his .45-caliber handgun and shot 17-year-old store clerk Jennifer Mejia, killing her. Laffer, the prosecutor said, then fired two more fatal shots at the pharmacist before two customers, 71-year-old Bryon Sheffield and 33-year-old Jamie Taccetta, walked into Haven Drugs without a clue about what was happening.
“He came up behind them and simply executed them by shooting them in the back of the head,” Collins said.
Seven bullets were fired and four people were killed.
With AP
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